Everknight
by Dahmiel
Summary: He didn't know how this happened. All he can remember was mailing his fake transcript to Beacon Academy. Next thing he knew, he's in the Land of Darkness under the employment of Salem, the Queen of Grimm. No choice but to be her courier, representative, and errand boy. Jaune finds himself in an odd position in this crazy world. At least the pay is good...
1. Chapter 1

**Co-authored. The same person who started the series, Music Semblance? Sure, let's go with that!**

* * *

**Irregular updates because she's just as busy as I am, and I have multiple projects and life to take care of.**

**Now if you excuse us, we have finals and university transfers to prepare for.**

**EDIT: Added a period to a sentence. Some words are missing for some reason.**

**EDIT: Readjusted several words. **

**NOT A [Salem x Jaune] fic!**

* * *

**Pardon our grammar.**

* * *

**Chapter 1:**

The Everknight.

Sounds cool, edgy, and important…

That's Jaune's title, the Everknight. The Emissary of Salem, the Eyes and Ears of the Grimm Queen, the Divine/Queen's Messenger, the Delegate of Grimm.

And most importantly, her errand boy.

Salem's castle, the Evernight Castle, is located in the Land of Darkness. A place where the Creatures of Grimm spawn and is practically uninhabitable for just about anyone but Salem herself. The castle is kept tidy by Grimm, Watt's androids, and Salem's magic, but even those couldn't cover everything.

Well, they can actually – It's just that they don't often do a good job for the more specific tasks.

Like going to the cellar and grabbing Salem's favorite wine. Salem doesn't seem to trust her Grimm or even Watt's android to bring it back in one piece. She could go get it herself, but she's royalty of sorts and… She's not in the mood right now.

Plus, she already drank all of her favorite wines.

Jaune gulped and brought up his Grimm Seer companion whom he named Pythia. The Seer unraveled itself from its 'scepter' form and started calling Salem.

The transmission went through and Salem appeared on the other end, looking like she's done for the day.

"Um, Salem? We ran out of your favorite wine. There's no more in the cellar." Both Jaune and Pythia tensed, awaiting Salem's response.

The Grimm Queen took a long deep breath and sighed, "My Everknight… Go to Mistral and bring me back the finest wine that it has to offer." Salem rubbed her forehead, "I need a drink."

"Right away."

"And bring back eight cases. Contact Leonardo to assist you with the shipment. Once it's been done, I'll take it from there."

"Got it."

The transmission ends.

Pythia, the Grimm Seer coiled its tentacles to revert back to its 'scepter' form; asking Jaune to carry it with him.

"Hey, we still have to contact Leonardo." Jaune poked the Seer and it reluctantly uncoiled with a hiss. "What are you sighing about? I know you don't like Leonardo, but we should give the guy a break every now and then."

How did Jaune end up working with Salem? Well, let's go back a few months.

/-/

Jaune wanted to be a hero.

At least, that's what Jaune originally wanted to be.

But that's not what happened. Life works in strange ways and sometimes; you find yourself in an odd position, wondering how you ended up here. For Jaune, he somehow ended up working with Salem, the Queen of Grimm. Jaune would put self-proclaimed in that title, but he doubts anyone would like to contest with that and live.

So how did he react to this?

He went with it.

Look, you try wrapping your head around this stuff. Jaune got yoinked by a giant flying monster when he was mailing his transcript to Beacon Academy and spent four hours screaming in the air before it dropped him into a barren wasteland.

A wasteland that's strangely beautiful with dark red skies and purple glowing rocks.

The aesthetic landscape was sadly ruined very quickly when Jaune did a double take on his surroundings. It was populated by monsters coming out of black goo pools. In an instant, he was surrounded by monsters, and Jaune was very glad that his bladder froze up with fear along with his entire body.

They snarled, relishing the fear that Jaune was emitting, ready to pounce on him if he so much makes a slight twitch.

Then she showed up. Dressed in a black robe and shawl.

Her skin is deathly pallor with dark purple veins lining her face and arms. Her eyes had jet black sclerae and glowing crimson irises that match the monsters around me. An odd choice of hairstyle, a bun with six offshoots wrapped together that also suspends several obsidian-colored ornaments.

She waved her hand, dispersing the monsters around me.

"There you are." Her voice was smooth, and gentle yet commanding. "Welcome Jaune, I've been expecting you."

What is she talking about?

"H-hi. How did you know my name?" The monster lady sounds kind, but he had no idea what is going on. "Why, um, am I here? No wait, I uh… So, um… Where am I?"

The monster lady smiled, "You're in the Land of Darkness. Come inside my castle, you must be tired after your flight. Let's continue our talk once we're inside."

She dodged the question and instead gave him even more questions.

Like why is there a castle in the middle of nowhere? And why is he following her?

His parents and older sisters always drilled into his head that one should never follow a stranger to an unknown or remote location like that giant ominous castle. But his weapon, Crocea Mors was left back at the house leaving him defenseless, and he can't really do anything but follow the mysterious lady.

He could try running away, but he'll have to get past all those monsters.

In other words, die.

So, he did what any reasonable person would do.

He followed her into the castle, quickly scuttering behind. The looming gothic castle was majestic, beautiful and daunting. Is she some sort of queen? This castle was somehow built in the middle of nowhere, full of monsters. How did construction get all the way out here?

Jaune couldn't help but marvel the interior of the castle. There were purple crystals glowing overhead attached to chandeliers and the hallways were adorned with those finely cut patterns.

"S-say Ms.…?"

"Call me Salem." She introduced herself, "And yes, I do live here. This is my castle, my domain. The Evernight Castle."

Names are important, but that doesn't tell Jaune much about who she is. Like, is she the queen of monsters or something?

"Nice to meet you, S-Salem." Jaune decided it would be polite to start off with a greeting, "Sorry to ask but w-what am I doing here? How do you –"

Salem smoothly turned her head, "You're here because you work for me now."

"Say what now?"

She must have gotten the wrong person.

"I am in need of your service. Someone who will aid me in my venture. Someone who I can rely on when the others are preoccupied with the tasks I have given them. That someone is you." Salem saunter to his side and pushed him forward to a near-empty chamber. "And I have something for you to assist you in your assignment."

Yeah, she definitely has the wrong person. Should he tell her that?

"Um. Why me?"

"Because you're the most perfect fit for this role, Jaune Arc." Salem vaguely answered.

Maybe she didn't get the wrong person? No, no. That makes no sense.

He doesn't remember applying for any position in this place. Was it the transcript? That wasn't a resume! And it was forged as well! No, wait. He dropped his transcript at the postal office, then got picked up by a flying monster soon afterward. There's no way mail service worked that fast, much less have an address for this place, right?

His thoughts were interrupted when he entered the chamber.

In the darkly lit room, a small crystal ball with tentacles tipped with bony spikes was floating in midair. It looked like a jellyfish and had the same color scheme as those monsters outside, only this one appears to be more docile in nature.

Further to the right of the jellyfish monster was a purple crystal table that contained a handful of accessories, mostly gloves and armor pieces.

Salem motioned at the jellyfish-like monster to come forth. It quickly floated towards her, stopping a meter away, bobbing up and down like a pet. It was bigger up close, the crystal ball part, which Jaune assumes to be its head and eye, was slightly bigger than his fist.

And Jaune will have to admit. It's kinda cute.

"What is it?"

"This is a Seer. A special one. It possesses certain abilities that no other Seers possess." Salem gently nudged it towards Jaune, "And it will be your companion." The Seer wrapped its tentacle around its appendages, coiling tightly till it looked like a scepter; albeit an edgy one. "Go on, take it."

He hesitantly reached out and grasp the 'stem', "It's warm…"

"It likes you." Salem nodded in satisfaction. She picked up a white glove with her emblem imprinted on the back and frowned, "I almost forgot. You've yet to unlock your aura." She placed a finger on his forehead, "Let's fix that."

"Huh? Uh… Gesundheit?"

/-/

Turns out that aura is a manifestation of one's soul. Basically, a personal shield that protects you from harm, and to some extent, the temperature. Aura empowers him, making him stronger, faster, reflexive… Maybe not that last bit yet.

At least, that's how Salem explained it to him.

His new employer was very kind and patient; helping him learn the ropes of this new job.

Not that he actually has much of a choice, to begin with since it was practically dumped on him out of nowhere…

"This is where you will be staying should you need a place to rest."

He was shown his own personal quarters and it was grandiose. The room was large. Larger than the family living room back at his house, and mind you, Jaune has seven sisters. The bed was fit for a king, and the carpets were made from the finest fabric imaginable.

He even got a large wardrobe closet full of high-quality silk clothing to cover the lack of belongs he had on him. The only thing he had with him was the clothes off his back.

"Whoa." Was all Jaune could say when he saw the wardrobe. "These look expensive."

Salem ignored his remark, handing him a key to his quarters. "There's a conference that will be taking place soon. I want you to change out of those clothes and into the ones I had provided you. Meet me in the east wing where the windows overlook the Grimm pools." She gracefully swept across the floor, already standing by the door. "If you're uncertain or lost, the Seer whom I assigned to you will assist you in finding your way."

"Thank you for everything." Jaune stuttered a bit on his thanks, mentally kicking himself as she left the room. "Smooth Jaune. Smooth."

He looked in the mirror and addressed his appearance. His Pumpkin Pete hoodie was slightly wrinkled, his blue jeans were slightly dusty, and his sneakers were unpolished. Yeah, not the best outfit to wear at a conference.

Then again. He didn't sign up for this in the first place, but it's best not to make Salem unhappy.

Oh god… What about his family? They must be freaking out by now. Will anything happen to them? Did they think he left four months early to Vale? What of his transcripts? So many questions Jaune has, but frustratingly can't ask. He's just too afraid to mention his family in front of Salem or anything personal for that matter.

_Calm yourself, Jaune. Keep going. Brush those thoughts aside and look on the bright side for now._

He took a set out of the wardrobe, wondering who put them there in the first place, and entered the lavatory to change out his old clothing and relieve himself.

The Grimm Seer waited outside in the bedroom, uncoiling and lowering itself onto his bed. Waiting for its companion to finish changing.

"I don't look bad, do I?" Jaune asked himself as he came out of the lavatory, fiddling with his regal dark gray coat.

The Seer rose from its position and floated over to him. Just floating there in front of him.

Jaune curiously eyed it, "Got anything to say about my new look?"

It continued to float silently.

"… Right." Jaune hastily put on his new black shoes and made his way towards the door. "Um, follow me?" The Seer floated after him. "I suppose I should give you a nickname or something."

The Seer bobbed up and down.

"How about a temporary placeholder name for the time being? Carlos should be good."

It didn't seem to like that, crossing its tentacles in protest.

Oh, it did have a preference.

"Okay, okay. How about…" Jaune dived deep into his mind for a decent name that the Grimm would like. "Pythia! Does Pythia sound good?"

The Seer bobbed up and down, reverting to its 'staff' or 'wand' form.

Jaune pumped his fist in the air, "Nice. Let's go Pythia." He plucked the Grimm out of the air, "Don't want to keep Salem waiting."

He made sure the doors were locked before leaving and traveled down the corridors to the east wings. The castle wasn't that complex, but everything looks identical in this place. He nearly lost his way twice, but his trusty living GPS managed to pull him in the right direction.

Soon, he found Salem gazing out the window into the Land of Darkness. The shattered moon hung over the horizon, shining brightly over the land.

"I see you named the Seer I assigned you," Salem commented without turning her gaze from the window.

That didn't surprise him more than it should have.

"I thought it would be more benefitting if it had a name I could call it by." Jaune scratched his cheek, "So I named it Pythia."

She nodded, "A fitting name."

"Thanks."

Salem pulled her gaze away from the window and eyed him. Looks like Ozma's surviving clothes fit the young lad.

"The clothes I provided fit. Excellent." She motioned for him to follow, "Come now. We have a meeting to attend to. Stay by my side and ignore the hectoring of my subordinates. They have the tendency to be malignance towards each other."

"Uh, that's okay." Jaune's body tensed a bit, "I'm uh… Use to such things."

"Regardless, do not be concern about their behavior." Salem's eyes flashed red, "I will ensure that they will leave you be." They stopped in front of two massive doors that lead to the conference hall. Already they could hear voices behind the doors. "It seems that they are at it again."

Salem effortlessly pushed the massive doors aside with a reverberating clang. The voices that were lively and mocking ceased immediately. Four people stood up respectfully as Salem entered the room, a room that contains one large crystal table surrounded by six wooden chairs; four of which were already taken.

Those four people eyed Jaune with curiosity. In turn, he gave them a side glance and silently followed Salem's lead, staying not far from her side.

Three males, one female.

Salem ignored them, taking interest in another crystal table behind her throne, one that was adorned with several white candles. It looked like it was some sort of shrine.

Jaune followed her gaze to the shrine, keeping up the appearance. The silence that floated around the air was thick and heavy.

Finally, Salem broke the silence.

"How goes your search for the Fall Maiden, Cinder?" Salem asked the young woman with black hair and bright amber eyes.

The Grimm Queen raised her hand, giving her subordinates permission to sit with only Cinder left standing.

Cinder composed herself before answering.

"I am close to finding her. Several reliable leads have provided me vital intel on her movement." Cinder said, "But I am currently seeking an apprentice or follower." Across from her, a lanky man with a mustache rolled his eyes. "Someone who will help me in my search of the Fall Maiden."

After giving her answers, Cinder immediately sat down.

"An extra hand will do you well in your search." Salem took her seat as well, leaving Jaune alone to stand by her side. He kept an impassive face while holding Pythia in his right hand. The Seer didn't seem to mind whichever position it is tilted in. "Especially when you're to finally confront her. Continue in your effort." She turned her attention to a scorpion faunus and a hulking man. "Tyrian, Hazel. How are things on your end?"

The scorpion faunus named Tyrian giggled madly, "It's been going very smoothly, your grace." He rubbed his hand together with glee, "Very, very smoothly! Eheh!"

What Remnant are they talking about? Some sort of search and rescue operation?

"Hazel?"

The burly man had his arms crossed, "Haven's Headmaster has been assisting me in tracking down the remaining huntsmen and huntresses. It'll take another few months before we can make our move."

So, they're looking for huntsmen for help?

The air lightens a bit as Salem smiled, "Good. I expect this sort of progress to continue." She turned to scorpion faunus, "Tyrian, I want you to start investigating the whereabouts of the Spring Maiden."

"Gladly." Tyrian rubbed his hands together.

"Hazel, continue working with Leonardo. Ensure that he keeps tabs on all the notable huntsmen throughout the kingdom. Prioritize the ones in Mistral first."

The large man nodded, "As you wish."

"Doctor Watts…" Salem eyed the lanky man with the mustache, "Continue with your work, but remain where you are after this. There are matters we must briefly discuss that require your expertise."

"Very well." The doctor rested back on his chair and clasped his hand in anticipation.

Jaune continued to stand still like a statue, occasionally shuffling his body a bit to keep his blood from flowing down to his feet. It was a good thing that this meeting was wrapping up otherwise he'll be feeling that prickly sensation on his feet all day.

"– and be prepare for the next phase." Salem finished, letting everyone but Watts to leave their chair. They have questions. Like who is that blond boy standing next to her, but it would soon be answered. "Before you all go allow me to introduce you to my emissary." That was Jaune's cue to step forward. "Jaune here will be relaying important messages from me and will be serving as my eyes and ears within the kingdoms. I expect all of you to treat him with respect."

"Of course." Tyrian stared intensively at Jaune with awe, "I would never disrespect the Goddess's messenger!" He introduced himself with a bow, "I am Tyrian Callows, a humble servant of the Queen."

"Hazel Rainart, a pleasure."

"Cinder Fall. I look forward to meeting you, Jaune."

"Doctor Arthur Watts. That's an interesting specimen you're holding there." Watts eyed the Grimm Seer that Jaune was holding.

He wasn't given a chance to actually introduce himself, but that was probably for the best seeing how unstable some of them are. With their brief introduction over, and everyone having something better to do, they all started to trickle out of the room.

Only one person seemed to have a keener interest in him than any of the other; Cinder ambled lightly to the doorway, her eyes lingering on him till Jaune was no longer in sight.

Then the massive wooden doors magically closed on its own leaving Jaune, Salem, and Watts in the conference hall.

Watts shifted in his seat, "What can I do for you, ma'am?"

The disgraced Atlesian doctor and scientist is a talented individual when it comes to technology and biology. His resourcefulness and expertise in those fields make him a very valuable asset within Salem's circle. He is essential to many of Salem's operations for this era, and it seems that Watts has another project he'll be working on.

"My emissary requires stable accommodations and endowments since he'll be residing in my domain for a substantial amount of time." The mistress of darkness got up from her throne, "The meals provided is not adequate for long term residences. See that it does."

Jaune was wondering how he would eat and drink. Furthermore, how would anyone be able to deliver tons of stuff in this Grimm infested land? Let's leave that to the experts.

Watts bowed, "And the endowment? How should that proceed?"

Salem slowly walked past Watts with Jaune trailing behind.

"My emissary will require funding if he were to travel. I understand that you're capable of allocating our finances without raising any questions. Ensure he has a way to access those funds, and a personal account for his earnings."

Does that mean he's getting paid? That's… Nice. Maybe he could save up and help his parents pay for his sisters' college education or something.

"Very good."

Watts stood up from his seat and followed them out.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Salem continued walking without glancing back, "While you are at it, amplified the Tower receivers. It's been having trouble receiving the signals transmitted by the CCT.

"Ah, it's that blasted security patch." Watts cleared his throat, "No matter, I will get to it immediately. Have a good day ma'am."

The doctor hurried away.

It's just Jaune and Salem now, slowly walking down the corridor in silence.

And that's how Jaune ended up being part of Salem's inner circle.

/-/

Qrow's semblance causes misfortune. It's always active and uncontrollable.

This is why he works alone to avoid endangering his people and in his free time, drinks his sorrow away. The risk was simply too great for his friends and families, especially when it comes to his nieces. It may be a sad life, but it was a purpose. A greater purpose is given to him by Ozpin, the ancient wizard who reincarnates each time he dies.

With the ability to turn into a bird, Qrow is able to sneak around the world undetected, acting as the eyes and ears for Ozpin. He's Ozpin's underdog, the man in the field. And his luck is about to take a huge dip when he decided to take a detour through the mountainous forest.

In the darken skies in his bird form, Qrow pivot pass a giant oak tree and spotted two unfamiliar looking Grimm flying hundreds of meters away.

They looked like Beringels with wings.

A never before seen Grimm before, or possibly a hybrid made by Salem. Qrow will have to investigate and report back to Ozpin on this new development. Maybe to Professor Port as well. The Grimm Studies professor would also be interested in his findings.

_Just my luck._ Qrow thought to himself, raising his altitude to follow the winged Beringels to the mountains. _Where are they going?_

The winged Beringels dropped to the ground and lumbered up a mountain summit.

Qrow silently sat on the tallest tree he could find and silently hop from branch to branch till they reached the highest peak.

_I don't like where this is going._

Numerous of ground and airborne Grimm ran amok, forming a large parameter. The Creatures of Grimm don't actively attack animals, allowing Qrow to sneak past a juvenile Nevermore with ease. He would have tried to move in closer, but he does not want to test his luck.

Something is going on here, and it must be really important if all these Grimm are converging to this area.

And there it was, a blond hair boy holding a Grimm Seer in his hand like it was wand or scepter.

Qrow couldn't make out his face; the boy's back was turned on him. But the huntsman took note of the outfit he wore. A regal looking dark gray jacket, dark pants, black shoes, and a white glove on his left hand.

As the winged Beringels came to a halt behind the blond boy, every Grimm in his presence went completely silent.

_Too sober. What did I get myself into?_ Qrow quickly suppressed his negative thoughts, or the Grimm will start to notice him.

The blond boy lifted the Grimm Seer and let it float in the air. It unraveled its tentacles and its orb started to swirl with a sickly red mist.

A deathly pale woman with purple vein and malevolent eyes started to form in the Seer's eye.

_Salem._

Qrow's heart jumped with fear, but he managed to keep his cool. He had never seen or heard the Queen of Grimm before, and despite her calm and gentle appearance, Qrow's instinct told him likewise.

There's no doubt about it. This boy is working for Salem and he must be really important as well.

"Hello, my Everknight. I had just received the shipment. It is in perfect condition." Salem said pleasingly, "You may proceed as planned."

_Everknight._

"Yes, ma'am." The Everknight responded.

"Once you reach your destination and completed your mission, you are free to do as you please for the time being. However, I ask that you avoid Beacon for now."

_Beacon? His destination must be Vale!_ Qrow's heart race when he heard that. One of his nieces was attending Beacon Academy! _Shit! Gotta warn Oz!_

The air was suddenly spiked with negativity. Salem, the Everknight, and every single Grimm within the area all snapped their attention towards a little crow nesting on a branch.

_Fuck._

Qrow instantly bolted, evading several juvenile Nevermore. Within seconds, every airborne Grimm was after him. He soared high into the sky, followed by a horde of Grimm. In his crow form, his small stature allows him to nimbly avoid the Grimm that tried to snack on him.

However, the biggest threat in the skies was the winged Beringels.

Of all the Grimm made for flying, it's the winged gorillas that nearly got him. They were deceptively swift and powerful, forcing Qrow to change back to his human form.

He unsheathed his weapon from his back and used the recoil of its firing mechanism to propel himself while damaging the winged Beringels. The damage dealt was practically nonexistent. The bullets bounced off the winged Beringels' armored forearms, allowing them to continue their pursuit of the huntsman.

The odds were against him. There were too many Grimm, both in the air and ground.

Qrow needs to clear his mind, lay low, and then escape. With Salem's servant hanging around and possessing unknown capabilities, Qrow cannot afford to fight or stick around. He really needs to get out of there.

"Come here ugly." He shifted his weapon to scythe mode and spun it just in time to catch the arm of a winged Beringel. "You're going down with me!"

The other winged Beringel tried to help its arm locked brethren, but the Grimm and huntsman were already spiraling down towards the forest. The Grimm below quickly got out of their way, scattering as they hit the ground. The impact shattered a large nearby oak tree, making it collapse into the area, further obscuring the monsters' vision.

The Creatures of Grimm converged cautiously towards the crater, unable to sense the huntsman from earlier.

A fierce roar could be heard from the ground as the winged Beringel burst out from the rubble, angrily shattering stones and wood with its bare hand. The other Grimm backed away, letting the stronger Grimm exert its anger.

It's roaring quickly died, switching from anger to confusion. Where did the human go?

They growled in annoyance and searched the area, looking for the human that magically disappeared into thin air.

/-/

"I think we lost him."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Salem looked rather disinterested in this affair, calmly sipping her wine. "Qrow Branwen is one of dear Ozma's valuable chess piece. A talented huntsman, and a spy."

Jaune squinted his eyes, "Should we join in?"

"No need. Let the Grimm do their work. If he does escape, Ozma will know of our next move. We should take this time to move ahead of them. Continue with your mission, Everknight. See to the status of our Fall Maiden in Vale." She downed the entire goblet and poured herself another, "I heard she picked up some capable followers along the way."

Guess he'll meet up with Cinder this time.

"Understood. I'll be on my way then."

Salem smiled, "Good."

The Seer hissed, ending the transmission.

Pythia let out an unhappy hiss, pointing one of its tentacles at the Grimm search party below them. It wanted to join in on the search, probably because Pythia isn't happy that a huntsman managed to get close to them undetected.

Jaune shook his head, "Come on, Pythia. You heard what Salem said. Besides, it's been a while since we saw Cinder."

Vale, huh? And Beacon Academy too. It looks like he'll finally be able to go there, in some capacity or another. Now that he thought about it. It was silly of him to try and cheat his way into Beacon Academy with no prior training at all.

Oh well.

He might not be the hero he wanted to be. It was an idealistic dream anyway, but at least he gets paid well and doesn't have to worry about Grimm eating him. The work benefits outweigh being that of a huntsman!

You know, because huntsmen are supposed to fight Grimm and such.

A pity all of his coworkers are either crazy or murderous, maybe both at times. That, or they're Grimm, not counting Pythia. His Grimm Seer is the sole exception.

Yeah.

"… This is the life."

* * *

**OMAKE:**

"You don't understand, Jaune!" Salem slammed her crystal goblet onto the table, "Ozma took the kids with him! Took my little girls with him to the afterlife!" She swiped her hand, blasting a hole in the wall. "Took them and left them there!"

Salem had let her hair down, looking very dishevel and depressed. She gets into this sort of mood when she gets fed up with something followed by her drunk rampage.

Which is why Jaune is here to listen to her woes and make sure she doesn't destroy everything and everyone in her drunken stupor. Unfortunately, that means he'll be sitting close to her when she starts blasting the castle with her magic.

"W-w-well. Have y-you tired…?"

"I did! But that stupid social worker bitch named Death! She, she…! ARGH!" She split the floor with a roar before taking a swig out of a bottle. "She thinks she's soooo smart, hiding my little girls away from me while Ozma gets to visit them each time he dies." She chugged the entire bottle of wine down and melted it with her bare hands. "Sorry Salem, you can't see your daughters right now. You have a FUCKING restraining order from the Gods! Well, fuck you too!"

She grabbed another wine bottle from the case and stabbed the cork with her nails.

"Have you t-two tried to ma –"

"I'm not making up with him until he says he's sorry!" She gulped down the entire content in one go.

_Oh man, at this rate the castle will be destroyed again._ Jaune whimpered mentally.

"I-I think you had e-enough, err…" Jaune shut his mouth as she glared at him.

"I'm going to kill Ozma."

"But h-he'll reincarnate." The ancient wizard reincarnates into another body after death, making her efforts moot.

"Then I'll destroy all the cocoa beans in the world. Yes…" Salem nodded happily, "I'll make his life miserable. Destroy his school, make him unemployed and homeless. Then I'll destroy every single coffee and chocolate in the world… He'll come begging to me."

Salem started cackling.

Cackling in such a manner that makes even Tyrian look sane.

"You two really need marriage counseling," Jaune muttered under his breath and called Pythia over. "Get a tiny Nevermore to deliver Ozma this message…"

/-/

Ozpin calmly drank from his mug full of hot chocolate while he sorted through the stack of mail on his desk, sliding them to his right, or into the trash if its junk.

_Junk, junk, bill, junk, junk, this one is from Salem…_

He slid a black letter with Salem's emblem onto his desk and continue sorting.

_Junk, bill, bill, junk…_

"Pffft!" Ozpin spat out his drink and fell back from his desk, crashing onto the floor with a loud bang.

"Sir! Are you alright?!" Glynda Goodwitch, his deputy came running in. Her weapon, which is a riding crop for some reason, was poised and ready. "Professor Ozpin?!" She breathed out a sigh of relief when Ozpin scrambled up from the floor, coughing. "Professor Ozpin, are you alright? What happened?"

"A letter…! From Salem!"

The room instantly went cold.

Glynda warily walked over to the headmaster's side. "From… Salem?! What should we do?"

"… Let's see what she wants." Ozpin opened the letter and silently read it.

His face suddenly went blank.

"P-professor Ozpin?" Glynda stared nervously at the headmaster.

"Marriage counseling?"

* * *

**Pardon our grammar. **

**FUN FACT: The main character was originally Oscar since that would had made a lot more sense being Ozpin's next incarnation and all, but he didn't make the cut as the setting drags.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Winter break. **

**Other author is free, and now I am busy. It's a switch-a-roo, but we have one more chapter that we're hammering out.**

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

"Why is she here?"

Qrow grumbled as he bandaged his battered arm. He spent nearly two hours underneath the fallen oak tree in bird form while the Creatures of Grimm stomped over him. It took him another two hours just to fly to a nearby town in Mistral before calling Ozpin which then grew into a conference with Ironwood, Glynda, and Winter entering the call.

At least the other headmasters are not here. Otherwise, this conference will drag on for a very long time, and Qrow really needs a drink.

Ozpin silently sighed, "Qrow. I understand that you had an unpleasant day."

"Night. I had an unpleasant night."

"An unpleasant night." The ancient wizard corrected his mistake. "But with another agent of Salem making an appearance, we'll need everyone we trust to be attentive on this. The other headmasters will also be notified of this development, but for the time being; please recount your encounter."

"Can you recall his physical description outside of having blond hair?" General Ironwood, the Headmaster of Atlas Academy and General of Atlas Military sat on his desk with his hands clasped over his face. "Eye color, human, faunus, height?"

"Look, Jimmy…"

Of course, Specialist Winter Schnee just has to make things difficult by being nitpicky about his addressing.

"It's General Ironwood." She stressed the military rank.

Glynda slapped her riding crop offscreen, killing whatever retort was forming from Qrow's throat. "Not. Now."

Leave it to Professor Glynda Goodwitch, to put everyone in their place.

"Look. I didn't get a good look at the kid. He turned around when the Grimm noticed me, but I didn't stick around the moment he did. Every single Grimm there jumped me." He was definitely getting wasted after this. Once this is over, Qrow will be going through every alcoholic stock in Mistral and get wasted. "I was fighting for my life with who knows how many Grimm frolicking the damn forest, and it was dark out. If you want more details, all I can remember is that he wore old fashion gray robes. Like some sort of ancient religious priest."

"Go on."

"He also had this Grimm with him. A Seer that can wrap itself up like some sort of creepy scepter or something. He used that thing to contact Salem." Qrow paused a bit, recalling the conversation between the blond boy and Salem. "She called him the Everknight and then she talked about receiving his shipment in perfect condition or something."

"Did they specify what that shipment was?"

"No. They kept it as vague as possible." Qrow's expression grew serious. "The same could be said for his next mission. Apparently, his next destination is Vale, or somewhere near Vale."

Ozpin, Glynda, and Winter had a notable shift in their demeanor.

"How certain are you on this?" Winter's younger sister, Weiss Schnee, would be traveling to Vale to attend Beacon Academy. She's just as worried as Qrow about her own family's safety.

"Because Salem herself told him to go somewhere but avoid Beacon. For now."

He let the last sentence speak its own volume. If Salem told this person. This Everknight, to avoid Beacon 'for now'. That means she has plans for Beacon and whatever it is, it'll be anything but good for them.

"For now." Glynda quietly echoed. Her eyes blazed with fierce determination as she glanced at Ozpin. "I'll start patrolling the city for the next following days during my time off."

Ozpin closed his eyes and nodded. "Very well. Go on, Qrow."

"That's all I got on the Everknight." The huntsman ran his hand over his hair, feeling that he was missing something. "Oh. I just remembered. I encountered a new type of Grimm along the way." Everyone's curiosity got the better of them. "Flying Beringels. I encountered two Beringels with wings. They had these huge wings on their backs and are very fast in the air. Strong as well. I think they're the Queen's newest pet, maybe even the Everknight's."

"That sounds troublesome."

"I only saw two with the Everknight. Tough fellas."

Beringels were exceptionally difficult Grimm to fight, especially when fighting in large numbers. They were quite intelligent and resilience to damage. Slap a pair of wings on them and you'll get a much more dangerous beast to take down.

"I see…" Ozpin decided to give the description to Professor Port, the professor for Grimm Studies and see what he makes of it. "Anything else?"

"Nope."

"In that case, shall we recap everything we have?"

They took note of every possible detail Qrow had provided them. Information was scarce on this new figure known as the Everknight, and any intel they could gather is valuable. The Fall Maiden has already gotten half of her power stolen by an unknown assailant from Salem and is in a dire state. Now, they'll have to deal with another mysterious pawn of the Grimm Queen.

Salem was making her move, and they'll need to act fast.

Winter read over their notes with a thoughtful and serious expression. "The highlights of this report are as followed…"

"Argh. Remind me again who invited her?" Qrow facepalmed, "She's not supposed to be in on this."

"I am in on this because my sister is attending Beacon Academy, and I will ensure her wellbeing. Do you have a problem with that?"

Qrow blinked, remembering that he was on a similar boat. He's deeply worried about his nieces no more than Winter for her younger sister.

"Right…" He let out a sigh, "Sorry. You're right."

That seemed to surprise everyone. Qrow, apologizing to Winter? The world is certainly ending.

Winter quickly composed herself. "I-I am glad that you understand."

"Yeah. Whatever Ice Queen." Qrow leveled his stare at Ozpin. "Oz… Before we wrap things up. I'm heading back to Vale after this. I'll be checking up on my nieces, and probably help Glynda out on her patrols while I'm there. That alright with you?"

Ozpin quietly considered it. There has been a rampant of Dust robberies throughout Vale by the notorious thief, Roman Torchwick for some reason and the citizens are getting nervous. Having Qrow there would greatly keep the city's public order in check. Whether it be Roman or the Everknight, Qrow and Glynda might be there to confront them.

"Very well. Let me know when you arrive at Vale."

/-/

"Roman Torchwick. Notorious criminal and thief of Vale, foiled by a little girl in a red hood." Mercury Black mocked the well-dressed orange-haired man. "Oh, look at me." The silver-haired boy raised the pitch of his voice to horribly imitate the thief. "I'm Roman Torchwick. I dropped out of huntsman academy because I'm a loser, but that's okay, I'm a successful thief. Oh no! A little girl in red just beat all my stupid underlings. That means she's too strong for me! I'm going run like a –"

A solid cane swung up and grazed Mercury's nose. The owner of this weapon was none other than Roman Torchwick himself, and he was not having it today. It's been a week since 'Little Red' ruined one of his heists, and Cinder's lackeys wouldn't stop ridiculing him over it.

"Listen you little punk…!"

"That's enough."

Everyone turned towards the charming voice that reverberated throughout the warehouse. A cold voice belonging to Cinder Fall; the very same false maiden who stole half of the Fall Maiden's magical power. This femme fatale announced her presence as she stepped into the warehouse, her hips swaying slightly in a mesmerizing manner.

One person was more eager to see this person than any other. A dark skin girl with green hair named Emerald Sustrai.

"Cinder!" She happily cried out. "You're back!"

The young woman disregarded Emerald's remark and walked past them. "Roman acted as he should have. Without Junior's goon to carry all of the stolen Dust, there's no reason for him to stick around." There was a map of Vale behind them, taped to the warehouse walls. It was drawn on with sharpies, detailing places to avoid or hit. "It appears that our enemies are becoming more vigilant. Huntsmen and huntresses are now actively patrolling the streets, which means Roman here needs to be cautious with each step, don't you agree?"

"Yeah, I guess." Mercury shrugged then winced as Emerald elbowed him.

Roman huffed. "I like to see you try and plan the next robbery."

"No, thanks. Not my specialty."

Cinder ignored their banter and studied the map in front of her. They had a sufficient amount of Dust stolen already, but a little thousand more wouldn't hurt. That was what she thought before Ozpin's right-hand woman, Glynda Goodwitch, started making daily runs to the city. With the huntress patrolling the city on an (ir)regular basis, their operation was starting to stagnate.

Fortunately, Roman knows that the huntress can't protect Vale 24/7 and developed countermeasures and schedules for their robberies. Still, Cinder can't shake the feeling that something is up.

Roman suddenly growled and pointed his cane at a dark section of the warehouse. "Whose there?"

Everyone instantly went on guard. Their weapons pointed at a figure calmly walking out into the light. A young boy with blond hair, blue eyes stepped out of the shadow. He wore an ornamented gray robe and wield a creepy looking scepter.

The scepter twitched and churned a bit. It was then that they realized… It was not a scepter.

Cinder's eyes widen. "Put down your weapons. Now!" Everyone looked confused, but they obeyed, watching Cinder hastily stroll towards the blond boy with a welcoming smile. "Jaune. I am so sorry about the reception."

She turned and glared at them, her eyes burning brightly. The guilty party gulped, feeling their body burning.

The blond boy, named Jaune merely smiled.

"It's alright. I think they did the right thing." It was a proper reaction, after all. Jaune didn't see anything wrong with the reception.

Emerald, Mercury, and Roman looked at the newcomer with an uneasy expression. Who is this guy? Why is Cinder, of all people, being very friendly and open towards him?

"I suppose you're right." She nodded and gave them a pass for their transgression, much to their relief. "What brings you here? No, should I get you something? You must be tired from all that traveling."

Her three underlings exchanged glances. This was definitely a side of Cinder they had never seen before. Is he her boyfriend? Or more likely, someone important? The Cinder they knew never bowed to anyone, say for her mysterious and powerful mistress. Perhaps Jaune is connected to her? Whatever the case is, Cinder acting as a welcoming hostess is a bit disturbing to them.

Maybe she fears him? That sent a shiver down their spine. He is holding a Grimm in his hand like it's a tool. Who on Remnant does that?

"I'm fine, thank you. I shouldn't be wasting your time. Or hers." Jaune lifted his Grimm Seer whom he named Pythia. "She would like to talk to you."

Cinder expression instantly changed. "Of course."

"But before we begin…" Jaune glanced at an empty wall, making Roman's heart stop. "Is she with you?"

On cue, the area near the wall shattered, revealing a petite girl with pink and brown hair. This was Roman's partner-in-crime, Neopolitan. Her umbrella was gripped tightly in her hand, her expression; cautious.

"She was with us the whole time?" Mercury quietly whispered to Emerald. Neither one of them was aware of Roman's partner lurking around.

"Neo." Cinder eyed Roman with an unreadable expression. "Yes. She's with us."

"That's good."

Jaune released Pythia from his hold, letting the Seer float towards Cinder and stood back with his arms behind his back. Aside from Cinder, everyone else instinctively took a step back from the Grimm, eyeing its sharp, bladed tentacles.

"Kneel. Heads down, all of you." Cinder commanded her underlings, which they complied with. She turned towards the Seer and cleared her throat. "Salem? What brings you and the Everknight here?"

A hissing sound could be heard from the Seer. Everyone in the room, aside from Jaune tensed as the Queen of Grimm ensure that her presence is felt.

"I'm here to check on you and your progress." Salem's voice, while soft; deafened every single sound around the warehouse. "After all, it's been a while since we last met." The Grimm Queen eyed the group of four behind her. "I see that your followers have increased since we last saw you."

Neither one of Cinder's lackeys dared move a muscle, nor look upon her face for fear that the dreadful Grimm-like woman would take notice and have her way with them.

Cinder respectfully nodded. "They've proven themselves useful to our cause. Everything wouldn't have gone smoothly as planned without them. We are, however, running into some minor issues with a huntress, but it isn't anything we can't handle."

"Yes, I suspected that was the case." Since Qrow Branwen managed to eavesdrop on their conversation, it wasn't a surprise that Ozpin is making his move to counter hers. "It just so happens that dear Ozpin's little birdie happened to caught wind of our involvement in Vale. Proceed with caution."

"Of course."

"With that said, how well have you adjusted to your newfound powers?" By Salem's order, Pythia hovered near Cinder and extended one of its tentacles. Cinder hesitantly reached out and let it wrap around her palm. Her palm started glowing, sending bright waves of light into the Grimm Seer. "Hm. It seems that the maiden's powers have integrated into your soul despite the oddity." The Seer released her hand. "Everknight."

Jaune stepped forth.

"The scroll, if you please." Salem watched Jaune handed Cinder the scroll containing Dr. Watts virus and applications. "That scroll contains all the necessary tools you'll need once you entered the next phase, courtesy of Dr. Watts." Cinder generously accepted the package even though it's from Watts of all people. "Continue what was planned. My Everknight will remain in Vale, expediting some aspects of our arrangements. Once you finish what is needed, return to Mistral and meet up with our informant."

"I will not fail you." Cinder bowed.

Salem sat back, looking satisfied. "Good."

The transmission ended with a hiss, and the Grimm Seer returned to its owner, happily coiling back to its scepter form so that it could be carried.

"Well. I will leave you guys be." Jaune casually killed the tension and began walking out of the warehouse.

"Ah. Wait a moment, Jaune." Cinder briskly stopped him. "Would you care to join us for the night? I promise you that Roman can provide proper accommodations for your stay at Vale."

Roman mentally groaned. _Oh, goodie. More freeloaders to add to my list._

/-/

The upper-class district was home to the elites. That's why it's called the Upper Class on the maps of Vale. It's also close to a forest known as Forever Fall, which is home to many Grimm, though there is a large wall that protects the district.

It's also where Jaune took up temporary residence.

Salem's finances seem to be unlimited no matter where he goes. Even at Vacuo, where the living standards are… Low. There's always a luxurious place for him to stay at. Brightside, he's constantly living his life in luxury, enjoying his regular lengthy breaks and is paid handsomely. The downside, he's working with the people aren't exactly nice.

Yes, Jaune is very well aware of what kind of people he is working for.

He's not delusional or naïve about it. He's simply trying to keep him and his family out of harm's way. As long as he's in Salem's servitude, err… Employment, his family is out of harm's way from the Creatures of Grimm and her other servants.

Speaking of his family…

It was nice of Salem to come up with an excuse for his absences. She had Dr. Watts reroute his profile to some courier company that works for the rich. Delivering mail and packages is risky business and high paying with all these Grimm running around. They somehow managed to pull it off. Anyway, that's a story for another time. What matters is that his family is safe, they have no idea he's in on something dangerous, and he gets paid. His sisters seemed to be happy with the influx of cash they received monthly from him and his parents are content with his 'career'.

Everyone is happy.

Jaune sighed, "I'm bored."

He was laying on the bed staring at the ceiling, hologram TV screen above. Jaune wondered how lazy people must be to get someone to develop these sorts of things, but who is he to judge. It is pretty convenient having a holographic TV above your bed.

His Grimm Seer partner, Pythia; was slump on a cushion as it watched some sort of series revolving around medieval drama and warfare. Out of all the Creatures of Grimm, he has met, Pythia is one of the laziest of its kind. Salem did mention that it was special, but he was pretty certain she didn't mean it personality-wise.

Pythia let out a hiss, conveying its thoughts to Jaune.

"I know. I know. I shouldn't be bored. It is a pretty good series."

His Seer let out another hiss.

"Season three was good. Maybe season two as well."

Pythia bobbed up and down in agreement.

Best to enjoy the show for the night before they get to work tomorrow. He and Pythia will be securing a substantial amount of Grimm for whatever Salem is planning along with the exceptional ones. In other words, they'll be recruiting the toughest Grimm they could find from the forests in person and relocate them to the rocky mountains.

Why can't Salem order them herself? She did said something about older Grimm being more stubborn.

Vale may have been heavily protected by the very same rocky mountains, but Salem has been ordering her Grimm to make several large pathways somewhere in the mountainous terrains. It's been done on rather short notice and she wants it completed within a few months, not that the Creatures of Grimm mind.

Jaune pulled out his scroll and looked at the schedule and pseudo-instructions. Go over the walls of the Upper-Class Districts and into Forever Fall. Recruit and herd Grimm to the east to the mountains. Direct them to their proper location based on classification. Rinse and repeat several times. Leave the Grimm to do their work and then go on vacation.

"Well, our work seems easy enough." Jaune put away his scroll and laid back. "Just like most of our assignments."

Pythia thought otherwise, scratching its two bony spikes together.

"What are you complaining about?"

The Grimm lazily flailed one of its tentacles around.

"No, we're not freeloading off of Cinder or her followers even if they insist we accept their generosity. We already have this nice place to stay in, what do you want from them anyway?"

Through an elaborate wave of its tentacles, Pythia conveyed its scheme to him.

"We're not making Cinder or any of her followers do any of our work. Why are you so lazy anyway? And how come you were able to see the umbrella girl but not the Qrow guy?"

/-/

"Speak. What's on your mind?" Cinder asked her two underlings, Emerald and Mercury.

The two teenagers nudged each other to speak until Mercury won out, making Emerald speak their thoughts. Emerald opened and closed her mouth, working out the sentences that were unreasonably difficult to express.

"We were wondering, who was that Jaune guy earlier."

"His name is Jaune, the Everknight." Cinder didn't glance up from her scroll. "He serves as Salem's representative, and you will treat him with respect. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Understood. That explains a lot…" One does not simply diss an emissary of a powerful person and live a meaningful life. "He must be skilled, being able to pick Neo out like that."

Jaune seemed very casual and outgoing but left very little openings, at least from their perspective.

"Yeah, I didn't know the midget was there the whole time."

Aside from Roman and Jaune, none of them were able to detect the petite assassin.

An awkward silence descended upon the trio, with the sound of Cinder's tapping on her new scroll being the only audible noise.

"So… Is Jaune helping us out with something? I think I heard something about an arrangement."

Cinder closed her scroll and slipped it onto the table. "Jaune will be assisting us in putting our plans into place. Discuss this at a later date. We have a long day tomorrow."

* * *

**Omake:**

When she asked Dr. Watts, the man somehow developed nanomachines to replace the naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria that give the wine a buttery taste and aroma. Why the fuck did he do that?!

When she asked Tyrian, let's just say that red wine isn't red wine.

When she asked Cinder, the young lady went completely off the rails in trying to find the perfect wine. Apparently, Cinder is extremely picky with the quality of wine to even touch it. Why did she allow some snobby wine connoisseur into her ranks?

As for Hazel… She couldn't even fathom. The one time where she and Tyrian found themselves sane was when she requested that Hazel bring her wine.

The man suddenly started foaming at the mouth, flipped the table over, and broke through the window, repeatedly screaming "OZZZZZZZZZZZZZPIIIIIIIIIIIN!" all the way to the wine shop. Then proceeds to destroy it.

It was now a taboo to mention wine around Hazel.

"… What did I do to deserve this?"

Salem lamented on her position as the Queen of Grimm. All she did was ask for her former lover to be brought back to life, and it ended with the world being destroyed, along with part of the moon. That was all she did.

A Grimm Seer floated into her room.

Salem scowled. She wasn't in the mood today. "What is it? This better be good."

The Seer showed a young blond teenager getting complimented boy his sister.

"Thanks, Jaune." Jaune's sister slapped him on the back. "So, glad we have you around. Even with seven of us around giving you the simplest to the complicated and nonsensical tasks. You always get it done."

Jaune let out of exasperated sigh. "This is the last time I'm letting any of my sisters use me as their errand boy… If I ever do this sort of thing for a living, I better be paid a lot for my service."

"He's hired!" Salem grabbed the Grimm Seer and shook it. "I want every single Grimm to prioritize that human and bring him to me! Alive and well!"

Her prayers have been answered! Thank the gods! She will forever worship them! Even though she tried to kill them by using their own creations against them and forever sworn to be their enemy...**  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter had some difficulty during production. We didn't like some of the outcomes so we took a while to change thing up.**

**Pardon our grammar.**

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

The Creatures of Grimm are the embodiment of destruction unless you're a Grimm Seer named Pythia. They are attracted to negative emotions and tend to attack humans and faunus on sight, leaving animals and insects alone for some reason.

They're also very whiny about doing other things that are not lollygagging or attacking something. That really explains a lot about Pythia.

"Come on."

"Raaaowr."

Jaune was using his entire body to push a giant Ursa Major back to the right path while the giant Grimm was making unintelligible noise that sounds like a mixture between whining and groaning. The Ursa Major had stood on its hind legs, its head raised straight to the sky, arms hanging loose and jaws lazily agape. This Grimm was the biggest and oldest of the Ursai he found in Forever Fall and it simply did not want to move boulders at the mountainsides.

"Don't make me use my glove."

His smooth white-glove bore Salem's emblem, which is the source of two interesting abilities he can utilize. The first ability is something she calls the 'Grimm Portal' which lets him store or summon a certain amount of Grimm. This is the same ability he's 'threatening' the Ursa Major with.

The final ability lets him mask his presence and mess with people's face perception. That's how he was able to move around undetected for the most part.

Anyway, Salem wasn't kidding when she explained that older Grimm can be very stubborn. They're essentially old people who refuse to do anything they didn't want to do because they're 'old'. If anything, this Ursa Major is acting more like a lazy teenager whose been told to go do their chores, letting out another groan as Jaune slowly manages to push the Grimm back to the right path.

His ever so faithful personal Grimm Seer, Pythia, was floating overhead keeping an eye out on things. In all honesty, it was probably redundant unless you have someone that can hide from plain sight like that Neo girl.

Why?

Because there's a giant Nevermore sitting on top of several large boulders, watching over everything along with a lot of lesser Grimm shuffling through the forest. That same giant Nevermore is his flight attendant and pilot across Vale.

"Good boy."

"Ra, Raaaowr!"

"Don't mock me." He rolled his eyes and walked back to the Nevermore, ready to move on to the next part of the forest. "Alright, let's go you two." Pythia floated down and wrapped itself around his chest since Jaune can't hold the Grimm while riding the Nevermore. "Not too tight, Pythia. You're stronger than you look."

The giant Nevermore descended from its perch, landing near Jaune for him to get on. He leaped on the Nevermore and patted its neck. It let out a screech and took off to the sky towards their next destination. One more stop, a quick check on the Grimm horde in the mountains and Jaune is off on vacation for the week.

"Wonder what we should do during vacation." Jaune raised his voice over the rippling winds for Pythia to hear. "I heard that the Vytal Festival will be hosted in Vale, so the shops are selling or stockpiling their stuff. Good time to go on a short spending spree."

Pythia hissed loudly over the winds.

"I know you're not good with money, cause you're a Grimm. No offense to you guys." He patted the Nevermore gently. "But just because we're rich doesn't mean we can recklessly spend money. My mother taught me good finances tricks."

He could feel the Seer rolling its eye.

"Oh sure. You try going against my mother in my shoes."

/-/

Turns out patrolling Vale was a waste of time for Qrow. Roman Torchwick didn't evade capture for a reason even if he's operating in Vale for years. Glynda and other off duty huntsmen have been roaming the city lately, but Roman always finds a way to slip through the cracks. With his misfortune semblance always activating, the dusty crow never manages to encounter Roman or his goons on time.

His luck was pure shit.

On the bright side, while he's here at Vale; he gets to watch his two nieces pass their initiation along with the rest of the huntsmen cadets. Not that he cares about those guys.

Qrow was a temporary part of the staff watching over the cadets, though they weren't supposed to step in to help the huntsmen-in-trainings unless it's an emergency. With his ability to shapeshift into a crow and fly over the Emerald Forest, Qrow can constantly keep tabs on the cadets or any irregularity down below.

It was unfortunate that he wasn't exactly keeping track of what's in the air.

His youngest niece, Ruby Rose, was hurling down towards Qrow in his bird form. A blur of red and black streaked through the air, and the dusty huntsman soon realized just how cursed he is.

"Squaak!"

He managed a single squawk as his entire body collided into his niece's heavy weapon, Crescent Rose.

"Birdy, no!"

Was all the unfortunate huntsman could hear his niece say while he was sent spiraling down into a giant tree. Having most of his aura taking the brunt of that unexpected turn of events, Qrow managed to shapeshift back into human form and used his weapon to stop his fall.

Qrow brushed his dusty clothing with a scowl and muttered under his breath, "Birdy? Crow, Ruby. I'm a crow." His scroll beeped. It's from Ozpin. He sighed and answered the call. "Yeah, Oz?"

"Having fun?"

"Did you intentionally launch them at me?"

Beacon's initiation goes like this.

Students stand on the launchpads. They get launched to Emerald Forest. They find their own landing strategy. Land in the forest, find a partner, pick one of the 'relics' that will let you pass the initiation and team placement.

Yeah. That's how Beacon's initiation goes.

And Qrow got tricked by Tai to wear a skirt. The son of a bitch known as Ozpin knew what he was doing when he told them it's time to work on their landing strategy. Well… At least the girls thought he had nice legs…

"You did say you would watch over them," Ozpin answered smoothly.

"Uh-huh. Not literally." He put away his weapon, Harbinger, and grab onto a tree branching hanging overhead. "Where's Port and Oobleck? Don't tell me they're sitting on their butts back at Beacon."

"They are. They'll be monitoring everything through the cameras."

Seriously? He's out there busting his face off while those two weirdos are in a warm room, eating and drinking. Why was he the only one out in the forest? His semblance brings misfortune to others, and that's not exactly something he wants for the future generations of huntsmen and huntresses to experience. Ozpin and Glynda, of all people, should know better.

Qrow let out a deep sigh. "Ozpin… You know what my semblance does to those around me."

"I know. Keep watch from afar. There has been a report of odd migratory of Grimm activities in the north."

"… You think she has something to do with it?"

"Too much of a coincidence."

"… Got it. I'll keep an eye out."

Qrow ended the call and turned back into his bird form. The little crow flapped its wings and flew towards the nearest sound he could hear. It sounded familiar.

Lo and behold, it was his youngest niece that just struck him across the face with her weapon, Ruby Rose.

The adorable crimson reaper was running through the forest, searching for a partner. If Qrow could make himself known or gotten closer, he would berate her for recklessly moving around in a forest infested with Grimm. Oh, whatever. He should be far enough from her so that his semblance doesn't affect her. Let's hope she gets paired up with a partner, preferably a girl unless that girl, in particular, is a Schnee.

Ruby came to a skittering halt as she came face to face with Weiss Schnee. The bitchy girl who was antagonistic to his young niece from day one.

_Fuck. I am so sorry, Ruby. Well, at least it couldn't get any worse._

/-/

Everything was going smoothly. They gathered another horde of Grimm and sent them on their way to the eastern mountainsides. Then, all of a sudden, their Nevermore went into a frenzy and changed their destination to Emerald Forest which is where a notable amount of negative emotions are emanating.

"No! Bad boy! Down! I mean stop!" Jaune and Pythia were clinging tightly to the giant Nevermore that serves as their flying mount. "We're going the wrong way! Pythia! Do something!"

His personal Grimm sharply hissed.

"I am not using my glove at this height!"

Pythia coiled itself very tightly, squeezing Jaune like a boa constrictor.

"I don't care if I have a landing strategy! I am not a masochist, and can't you fly as well?! You're floating most of the time! You're carrying me if we fall!" They were now flying very uncomfortably into Emerald Forest, which is just next to Beacon Academy. The exact same place where Salem told him not to go. Well, at least he wanted to go here at one point so here he is. "We're too close to Beacon! Pythia! Call Salem!"

The Grimm Seer started dialing Salem, hoping that she could bring some sense to their frenzied ride. Both the Seer and Jaune silently waited for Salem to answered for nearly a minute, but the call never went through.

According to Pythia, her grace is currently not available at this time.

"Oh, come on!"

Jaune wanted to throw his hand in the air, but the Nevermore they were riding suddenly dived down, forcing them to hold on tightly. It screeched loudly, gouging through the trees at something below them. He swore he saw a crow getting battered aside somewhere, but what really caught his attention were the three huntress-in-training, leaping onto the Nevermore.

A good thing his magic glove was activated at this time, otherwise, his identity would have been revealed. Their grace and skillful maneuver around the Nevermore's attack stilled Jaune with their prowess. Luckily, his faithful Grimm was here to knock some senses into him, whacking him over the head with its tentacle.

"Huh? Oh yeah…"

Three huntresses-in-training has appeared, what should Jaune do?

/-/

Ruby had this best idea for getting Weiss, Pyrrha, and her to a favorable vantage point. They just need to find a flying Grimm and rein it to the relics! Genius!

Hopefully, that would earn her some cookie points with Weiss. They didn't get off to a peachy start when they met and she was further alienated when they encountered Pyrrha Nikos, the four-time champion of Mistral Regional Tournament who Weiss wants to partner up.

Maybe she has a thing for tall girls…

By chance, they happened upon a giant Nevermore diving down overhead and managed to hitch a ride on it. What they didn't expect was that there was someone already on it.

A boy around their age, maybe blond?

Well, she couldn't quite make out his face. It was defined, but for some reason, she can't keep his image in her mind. It could be a semblance or whatever. Also, he has a strange jellyfish-like Grimm wrapped around him.

"Uhhh, hi! There's a Grimm on you!" Ruby's high pitch voice was audible through the shifting winds. "Do you need help?"

Ruby was socially awkward, so she didn't exactly know the correct way to say that there's a weird Grimm wrapped around him.

The boy smiled, "Hey there." His voice was a bit hoarse but had a leveled tone to it. "Can you three please let go of the Nevermore? I have something I need to do, and I would hate to drag you guys along with me."

"Excuse me?!" Weiss scowled at him with an irritated expression. "And who are you? Never mind! He can be your partner." The heiress shot Ruby a firm look. "Nonnegotiable!"

"Uh, sorry." The boy brushed aside the jellyfish Grimm's tentacle and scratched his cheek. "I think you're mistaken. I'm not part of… Whatever this is." Three huntress-in-training, clinging to their dear life on a giant Nevermore having a discussion with an odd boy. "Ah. Going back to your question, Snow Angel; I'm the Everknight. Nice to meet you." He paused and focus his gaze on Ruby, ignoring the retort from Weiss. "And you… You have silver eyes?"

This was déjà vu for Ruby. "Uh… Yes?"

"Everknight?"

"What kind of Grimm is that?" Pyrrha interrupted their conversation. "It's not hurting you, is it?"

Before the Everknight could answer, the Nevermore they were riding screeched and lunged down once more. Its target is a dark figure zipping through the trees. This familiar figure drew his weapon, letting the blade shift into a scythe. Its silver blade glinted brightly in the sunlight and sliced through the air in blinding speed, bypassing the Nevermore's attack.

The Everknight quickly dismounted from the Nevermore, narrowing avoiding the familiar figure's strike. The figure in question cursed loudly at that. Hang on… That voice.

It's Uncle Qrow!

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby's eyes blossomed with glee, "What are you doing here?!"

"Uncle?" Weiss and Pyrrha echoed.

"Not now!" He pointed the dual barrel of his weapon at the base of the Nevermore's head and fired, causing it to shriek in pain. "Let go!"

They reluctantly did so, falling straight down at a bearable height. As they landed, the giant Nevermore overhead fell into the forest, shaking the ground with a heavy rumble. Qrow then darted to his Ruby's side protectively shielding her and the two huntress-in-training from someone.

"Uncle Qrow, what's happening?" Ruby asked him, "Why did you attack him? I know dad and Yang can be overprotective of me, but this is ridiculous!"

"Get back you three!" Qrow raised his weapon and fired three heavy shots into the dense forest. He quickly took out his scroll with one hand and started calling someone. "Ozpin! He's here! The Everknight is here!"

"The Everknight?" Pyrrha looked confused, "Who is he?"

"Someone dangerous, apparently." Weiss warily said, drawing her weapon.

An electric bolt suddenly flew out from the forest, blasting Qrow's scroll out of his hand. The huntsman growled and gripped his weapon with both hands, facing the jellyfish-like Grimm that silently floated next to the Everknight.

"Nice shot." The Everknight calmly said, eyeing the forest with unreadable eyes. He turned his gaze to Qrow and smoothly greeted the huntsman. "Qrow Branwen. Hello again."

"You know each other?" Ruby curiously asked, her weapons were primed and ready for combat if the boy is actually a bad guy.

"Not now, Ruby." Her uncle tightened his weapon, ready to strike.

In response, the Grimm Seer coiled itself into a scepter and fell into the Everknight's hand.

"We could not fight you know." The Everknight pointed his Grimm scepter at Qrow. "If that's okay with you."

"Yeah. Sure." Qrow sarcastically answered.

His figured blurred, kicking up dirt as he rushed towards the Everknight, forcing the boy to retaliate with an electrical discharge from his Grimm scepter. Qrow skillfully avoided and absorbed some of the attacks, swinging his scythe with unrelenting momentum.

But the Everknight danced through his opponent's blistering attack. Swaying and hopping on his foot and motioning his hand like a professional dancer. It was almost intoxicating to watch.

Ruby shook her head, replacing her glazing eyes with determination. She lifted her weapon and turned to Pyrrha and Weiss.

"We have to help my uncle!"

"He's a professional huntsman." Weiss cautiously observed the raging battle. "We shouldn't get in his way."

Pyrrha nodded, "She's right." Both combatants appeared to be skilled fighters. If any of them got in their way, it would only hinder Ruby's uncle instead. "And he contacted the headmaster. The other professors will be on their way soon."

"But, but…!" Ruby wanted to protest, but they made a great point.

A loud shriek could be heard across the forest. The giant Nevermore that Qrow fell was back, and it was angry.

"But we can deal with the Grimm that's heading our way." Pyrrha tensed, "Or try."

/-/

The extensive training Salem put Jaune through really pays off. Combined with his dancing skills and Pythia wide arrange of abilities, he can hold his ground for a while, but he really should get out of there. That's exactly why each step he took is a step back.

Overhead, the Nevermore dived down and mercilessly ripped through the grounds and trees like a hurricane. With debris flying everywhere, Jaune managed to disengage from the huntsman and moved back towards a favorable position. He mentally ordered Pythia to set the trees on fire to further help in their escape. The Seer uncoiled itself and quickly glide towards the driest tree it could find, setting it alight with its tentacle.

"Now, let's get out of here."

They let the thickening smoke cover their escape, yet Qrow remained persistent, bursting through the smoke with his scythe.

Jaune backpedaled and twirled to the side, letting Pythia coil all of its tentacles into a drill and rocket towards Qrow. The Seer spun like a homing drill missile, its bony spikes screeched against the huntsman's weapon, before bouncing off and send out a dual blast of lightning and fire from its tentacles.

Qrow scowled, "Can't fight without your pet Grimm?"

"I'm short on time and at a disadvantage." Jaune retorted and nodded at Pythia to do its thing. Time to get out of here before the whole forest burns down. Hopefully, everyone can get out on time before things really start heating up.

Pythia's transparent head/eye started glowing very bright red. The Nevermore swiveled its head at the Seer and screeched, quickly taking to the skies. That was obviously not a good sign.

"Oh, that's not good." The forest was quickly catching fire, he had three huntress-in-training to watch over, one of Salem's agent is here, and the Seer suddenly started glowing red. "Take cover!"

Everyone quickly fled in the opposite direction, just as the entire forest was suddenly engulfed in a blinding red light.

/-/

In the aftermath of the Everknight's appearance at the initiation, Ozpin's inner circle had called in another meeting to discuss the troubling development that has transgressed during the initiation, though Winter was not present this time.

The Everknight has escaped right from under their noses. Ozpin and Glynda were unable to reach Qrow's location in time, allowing the Everknight to slip away into the forest. If they were to try and pursue him, they'll be leaving Beacon severely weakened and with one of Salem's agents nearby, that was not a risk they were willing to go with.

"What can your niece recall?"

Qrow shrugged, "Not much Jimmy." He wanted to take a swig out of his flask, but Glynda wouldn't allow it. "Said he was the Everknight, something about having to do something, and… That she has silver eyes."

They briefly went silent.

"Silver eyes." Ozpin hummed.

Glynda's eyes flickered with a tint of worry. "You don't think…?"

"Most likely."

"Not if I can't help it." Qrow angrily growled. "That bastard won't be taking a single step near Beacon, or anywhere in Vale."

He already lost a rose before. He wasn't going to lose another as well, much less, Summer's only daughter.

"I understand your concern, Qrow." Ozpin attempted to pacify the huntsman, "But we don't know much about Salem's new Pawn… Or should we call him her Knight?"

"He's right. Our video feeds were unable to capture anything useful." Glynda tapped on her scroll, resulting in several black screens that are current feedbacks from their destroyed cameras. "The forests cameras blacked out when the Nevermore crashed into the forest. All previous recordings showed us nothing as well."

Everyone turned towards Qrow.

"… Sorry. It's my semblance." Qrow guilty rubbed his head.

"I think you did the right thing." Everyone would probably do the same thing if they were in Qrow's position. "Still, this doesn't help our situation. Salem is planning something. Something at Vale and Beacon, but we have yet figure what."

"You think it's Autumn they're after?"

"Obviously, but there's more to it I believe."

Everyone let out a deep breath.

"We still can't identify the Everknight's appearance despite four individuals barring witness." Ironwood eyed Qrow. "Are you certain you can't remember anything? Your niece, Weiss Schnee, Pyrrha Nikos… Were any of them able to discern any notable features?"

He shook his head. "No. I think the guy has some sort of memory manipulation or face perception semblance." Qrow winced and massaged his forehead. "Ugh. This is frustrating. I saw his face clear as day, fought him one on two, and it doesn't stick in my head."

Ironwood hummed thoughtfully. "We'll have to dwell on that later then."

"Indeed." Ozpin agreed, finding the issue slightly jarring. An opponent whose face you can't remember will be extremely difficult to track down. "Let's move on to the next topic. You crossed blades with the Everknight, correct?"

"I wouldn't call it 'crossing blade', Oz. The kid was using a Seer like a weapon, shooting fire and lightning with it." Everyone frowned at that. Using a Grimm as a weapon? That's extremely unorthodox, but they remained silent, letting Qrow tell his story. "I couldn't land a hit on the guy. He keeps dancing out of my swings. Literally, he was dancing out of my range the entire fight, kept retreating while he worked together with the Grimm to fend me off."

"It seems that he was keener on escaping than fighting." Glynda mused, "Understandable considering he was in our territory."

"And the bastard got away."

"At least no one was harmed." Ozpin countered Qrow's pessimism. "The initiation continued and ended without an issue; I say we got off very lightly."

"Salem as well."

"Consider it, a draw then."

"Still… For someone that young to possess much skill…"

"Hey, with the face perception thing screwing us over, he might as well be just as old as us." Qrow glanced at Ozpin. "Well, maybe that old."

Ozpin rolled his eyes. "This body is quite young, despite what you think."

"Sure, it is. You were headmaster back when I was a student."

"We're going off-topic." Glynda snapped, "What should our next move be?"

The Everknight has proven himself to be very bold and skilled. Attacking a group of huntress-in-training close to Beacon Academy, fought off a highly-skilled huntsman, and escaped despite the efforts of Ozpin, Glynda, and Qrow. Worse of all, they weren't even sure why the Everknight was there in the first place.

The only plausible theory was centered around Ruby Rose and her silver eyes. Silver-eyed warriors had the ability to destroy Grimm just by looking at them, making such people a high priority target for Salem. All other theories were up in the air since they can't find anything aside from an irregular Grimm migration, but the Creatures of Grimm were often random at times.

"This is going to be a long night…" Qrow lifted his flask and felt warm liquid spilling all over his body. "Ah! What the –?!" He saw a medium-sized gash at the top base of his flask. His precious booze was spilling through the gash, and Qrow's expression became very lividly. "Ooooh! That dipshi –!"

/-/

"I'm telling you. That Qrow guy reeks of alcohol. Like a ton and tons of alcohol. I'm certain he's 70% water, 30% alcohol." Jaune tiredly slumped into their bedroom, finally done with their mission for the night. "Oh, man. It's been a long day."

They finally reached the mountainside, berated his Nevermore, and redirected all Grimm to their respective spots so that they could start making the paths in the mountains. Never had he heard such whiny creatures in existence. The Creatures of Grimm, when not being the monsters of destruction, were lazy individuals that do nothing but laze around or destroy things.

Anything outside of that, and you'll get a chorus of groaning Grimm, all making their thoughts known to him and Pythia. Well, if they want to file a complaint, they can take it up with Salem, who has yet to answer their calls.

"Vacation. Here we come." Jaune powered down and collapsed on his soft bed.

Pythia weakly hissed in agreement, laying limp on top of him.

They were done with everything.

Fighting aggressive drunk huntsman that can turn into a bird. Causing a forest fire. Barely escaping with their lives. Ordering lazy Grimm to act as construction workers. The list goes on and on.

They deserve this vacation.

* * *

**Omake:**

Salem sat comfortably on her chair, reading one of her favorite novels of this so-called modern era, 'Ninjas of Love'. While she wished the destruction of Remnant, Salem will have to appreciate some of the entertainment the world has to offer. At the very least, she'll not be bored in the meantime while she plots their demise.

Not to mention how steamy things were getting in this chapter.

Her pastime was interrupted when a knocking came from her door

"Come in."

A Grimm Seer floated into the room, carrying a transmission request from Jaune. Apparently, his Nevermore and mission has gone SNAFU and is heading towards Emerald Forest where all the negative emotions are coming from.

She sweated a bit at that. Jaune was uncomfortably close to Ozpin's headquarters and that would not do well for her Everknight. But she was getting to the scene where the two characters were about to make love, so…

No, no. World destruction is her first and for most priority.

Salem was just about to answer the transmission request, but the chapter was just starting to get interesting.

"… He can handle himself for an hour or two."

She dismissed the Grimm Seer and placed a 'Do not Disturb' sign on her door. The story is getting to the good parts, and she wants to enjoy herself without any interruption.

* * *

**Pardon our grammar.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A small chunk of flesh from my finger is gone due to poorly made utensils. It'll take a while for me to recover and get back, and the co-author is a slow typer and horrible writer. Most of the time.**

**Also, the omakes… We don't know if it's canon or not. Feels like it, yet it is not? How does that work?**

**Pardon our grammar. **

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

"See all of this?" Roman waved his arm around the entire warehouse filled with Dust crates. "This covers next week's quota. Honestly, either I'm getting too good at this or they're letting me off easily."

The last few days have been productive. Roman was able to pull off multiple heists quickly before the cops and huntsmen arrived, which has gotten easier without Glynda or Qrow. A stark contrast not too long ago where the city was prowling with that particular Huntsman and Huntress.

Sitting atop one of the crates were Cinder's underlings. Emerald and Mercury, who was currently bored out of their minds. Their mistress has specifically told them to lay low, and not do anything stupid. They'll leave that to the White Fang soldiers who were tasked in carrying out transportation and various missions.

Normally, the White Fang wouldn't be working together with humans. After all, it was the human's discrimination against the faunus that set the group down a violent path. But with Cinder's persuasion, she has gained the support of Adam Taurus and the rest of Vale's White Fang cell.

So, Emerald and Mercury are currently out of the job.

Emerald rolled her eyes. "Right. Still doesn't cover up the fact that you got your hat handed to you by a fifteen-year-old girl."

"No offense, Em. But that is getting old, and that's coming from me." Mercury absentmindedly skimmed through a comic book. "When are we leaving again?"

"You two clearly don't understand how much work goes into this." Roman fixed his hat and lit a cigar. He wasn't expecting appreciation, oh no. What Roman expects is some recognition for his work. "Go on. Sit there going nothing, while I do all this hard work and get no credit for it. She wouldn't have gathered this much Dust if it weren't for me."

"I do give credit when it is due, Roman." Cinder skulked out from the darkness, surprising the villainous trio. "But a portion of it goes to the Everknight." She flicked through the messages on her scroll and closed it. "And he's the one that's been keeping our hindrances at bay."

Roman, Emerald, and Mercury exchanged curious glances at each other.

"What do you mean, ma'am?"

"I wasn't given the full details." The details provided were vague, but it came from Salem herself, which was forwarded to Cinder by Watts. If Salem doesn't wish to provide them more information, then they have no right to question it unless it's truly necessary. "From what I was given. His mission was centered around Forever Fall and Emerald Forest. The latter is an area where Beacon Academy conducts its annual initiation for their soon to be freshmen students, which so happens to be on the exact same day the Everknight made his move."

"Which means a lot of surveillance and huntsmen on hand in case anything goes wrong." Roman understood the initiation process as he was a former huntsman.

Cinder nodded, surveying the stolen Dust they amassed. "And among Beacon's staff overseeing the initiation is Ozpin's little birdie, Qrow Branwen and Ozpin himself."

The picture was starting to form in their minds what had transpired.

"What happened," Emerald asked.

"Why, part of Emerald Forest was destroyed during an altercation between Jaune and our enemies with the Everknight making his daring escape." Cinder turned to them with a smile. "All under Ozpin's nose."

Mercury emitted a low whistle. "Going into the enemies' territory and trashing in front of them? Doesn't sound like he's playing around."

"But how does that all tie in with this?"

It was Roman's turn to roll his eyes. "It means momma bird is sticking close to her nest." Smokes puffed into the air from his cigar, dropping ashes into a tray. "They won't be going far when they know he can threaten the academy despite the odds against him. That's why my job has been getting easier these past few days, isn't it?"

"Precisely."

Jaune has given them a window of opportunity. With Glynda and Qrow cooped up around Beacon Academy, Vale is in their hands for now. Even with the other huntsmen and law enforcement prowling the street in double the numbers, the main hindrances have their hand-tied leaving Roman free to do his job without much trouble.

A spent cigar dropped to the floor and was promptly crushed by Roman's cane.

"I'll start preparing for the next Dust robbery."

"Do see to it, Roman."

Mercury straightened up. "What about us? I'm so bored. Nothing to do but watch over nothing."

"We're going to Mistral," Cinder strolled off, her bright yellow eyes blazing like fire. "and meet up with our informant. With Jaune relieving us of our workload, it's time we move on to our next phase."

/-/

Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Pyrrha Nikos.

The extraordinaire out of the entirety of Beacon Academy, being the only team with three people composed of skilled and talented individuals.

They are known as Team RWN, pronounced Rowan after the rowan berries.

Their leader, Ruby, started attending Beacon at the age of fifteen compared to the typical seventeen. In other words, the little crimson reaper is skilled enough to catch the eyes of the headmaster and was personally approved by him to attend Beacon.

Her partners also held a similar status, if not, more so then hers.

Weiss Schnee is the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. A monopoly business that controls nearly all of Remnant's mining and marketing of Dust, along with a few other useful products. She's also a decently skilled fighter, a talented dancer and singer.

Lastly, is Pyrrha Nikos. Graduating at the top of her class at Sanctum, Pyrrha is a renowned tournament fighter recognized throughout Remnant. Her most notable achievement is winning Mistral's Regional Tournament four years in a role, a new record! She's also on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box.

As stated, Team RWN stood out amongst the student ranks and that wasn't a good thing for Ruby and Pyrrha. Compared to Weiss, who desires for their team to be acknowledged and highly respected; the other two huntresses-in-training would rather not be evaluated to a high status at Beacon. They simply wanted to be your average huntresses, not celebrities.

There's also the issue of Weiss feeling entitled to the leadership role, but it would have to wait.

They've been called up to the Headmaster's Office regarding the events that have occurred during the initiation. The conversation between Team RWN and the mysterious boy known as the Everknight was what intrigued Ozpin the most.

Not how the Everknight was able to control Grimm, heck even using one like a weapon. Just the conversation in general. What's up with that?

Seated in the Headmaster's Office is the headmaster himself, Ozpin. To his side, his are Glynda Goodwitch and Qrow Branwen, Ruby and Yang's uncle. On the video calls, are General Ironwood and Specialist Winter Schnee, Weiss's older sister.

Ruby was impressed that Weiss was able to make such a happy expression upon seeing the older Schnee. Not that it lasted long.

The mood in the office was heavy and the looks the adults gave Team RWN were making it worse. Despite all of this, they were assured that they were not in any trouble. They simply want to know what happened during the initiation.

"And… That's pretty much how we met him." Ruby embarrassingly told them her brilliant plan of trying to commandeer a giant Nevermore.

Glynda looked at her disapprovingly while Qrow scratched his cheek. It was obvious who she learned it from.

"I see." Ozpin was slouched forward; his hands clasped in front of his face. "Continue, if you please Miss Rose."

"Well, it took us a while to see him, but when we did, I tried to ask him if he needed any help." She saw the adults raised an eyebrow at that. "H-he had a Grimm wrapped around him, so I thought he was having trouble."

"What did he say?"

Ruby paused, trying to remember what the Everknight's response was. "He asked us if we can let go of the Nevermore, and that he has something he needs to do."

That got the adults thinking. What was the Everknight doing there if his target wasn't Ruby Rose in the first place? Was their encounter all a coincidence?

"Go on."

"Um…" Ruby glanced at Weiss. It was the heiress that chatted with the Everknight after that.

"I thought he was one of the students participating in the initiation," Weiss told them. "So, I asked him who is he and he introduced himself as the Everknight."

"Oh. And after that, he said that I have silver eyes." Ruby tapped near her eye sockets. "Still no what that means, but yeah…"

Ozpin eyed Qrow, then returned to gaze to her. "We will discuss the significant subject of your eye color at a later date. Please, continue."

"And um… After that uncle Qrow jumped out of the trees and tried to attack him. That's pretty much it. I think." The crimson reaper turned to her teammates to see if they have anything to add to. "Yup. That's it I think. Well, there was the fight between my uncle and the Everknight, and us against a giant Nevermore."

"I see."

"Were you able to remember his appearance?" Ironwood asked, his serious expression was shared by Winter and Glynda. "Any notable features? Motor or verbal tics? Hair or even eye color?"

Team RWN paused.

What did the Everknight look like again? They tried racking their brains trying to remember.

"Uh… He was blond, I think?" Ruby looked at Weiss, then to Pyrrha. "Was he blond? I don't know why I'm having a hard time remembering him…"

Pyrrha frowned. "I thought I was the only one. I couldn't remember anything about his appearance. His clothing, and possibly his blond hair is all I can recall."

"You're right." Weiss was visibly straining to remember as well. Not even she could remember the simplest detail.

"Then that confirms it." Qrow growled, "Kid got a semblance that causes face blindness. That's the only explanation I can think of."

"I've come to the same conclusion as well." Glynda nodded and pinched her forehead. "That leaves us with the extent of his semblance. If we were to encounter him again, would we know it's him? Is his semblance uncontrollable, or is he able to turn it on and off at his own will?"

"Does that extend to surveillance footage?"

If the Everknight's semblance only works against a living, breathing person, then would it work against androids, cameras, and photographs?

Perhaps Penny Polendina, the first synthetic person to generate an aura, might become a great asset in their search if so. The android girl is strong, fast, and perceptive. As of now, she might be their only best chance of identifying this mysterious Everknight, alongside the Ace-Ops.

"We currently don't have any footage containing our elusive intruder," Ozpin answered Winter's question. "My apologies, girls for the abrupt end to our conversation. We thank you for taking your time and being here today. Do you have anything else you have to say before we let you go?"

Ruby looked uncertain when she asked her questions. "So, who is this Everknight? Is he a bad guy or something? Well, he wasn't mean to us, but what did he do?"

"And how can he control Grimm?" Weiss asked the much-needed question. "He had one on him, and he even used it as a weapon. Who is he really?"

It was all baffling to Weiss. It goes against the very nature of what the Creatures of Grimm stand for, and it made things extremely confusing to her. General Ironwood, her sister, Winter, Ozpin; they all seem to have some sort of connection or interest in this Everknight boy.

"We don't know who he truly is, nor understand how he is able to command Grimm." It was a partial truth and there wasn't much point in denying otherwise. Neither Ironwood nor any of them have much information on the Everknight, but they won't be giving much away either. "All we know is that he is dangerous."

"How do you know he's dangerous?" Ruby innocently asked. "Aside from controlling Grimm and such. And it sounds he knows you, uncle Qrow."

Qrow scowled, grumbling to himself mostly due to the lack of booze. "He's dangerous cause I nearly got done in by the kid the first time meeting him and his Grimm. Those damn winged –"

"Qrow." Glynda shot him a disapproving glare. Too much information, potentially. "That's good enough. Remember, children. What we discuss in this room must not be said to anyone else. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor Goodwitch." Team RWN answered immediately. This matter did sound rather dangerous.

"Good. You are dismissed."

"Oh. Okay, bye uncle Qrow."

"See ya, Ruby."

As they began to leave, Winter called out to her sister. "I'll contact you after I am done with this meeting."

Weiss's face instantly lit up. "I'll eagerly await your transmission."

She gave her sister a curtsy bow and entered the elevator.

"…"

Ozpin's inner circle calmly waited till the elevator was halfway to its destination before resuming their conversation.

"Well. That leaves us with even more questions."

"But we were able to confirm a few things about the Queen's Knight."

From what they were able to gather, the Everknight appears to have a semblance that causes face blindness. He can control Grimm, and that's just about it. Whatever he was doing at Emerald Forest may forever be a mystery. Repeated investigations turned up nothing, and Forever Fall is too vast to pour time and effort into with the school semester just kicking off.

They could send several teams of older teams of students into the forest, but gods know what the Everknight has in store for them.

"It's not much, but we all have to start from somewhere." Qrow knew how tedious information gathering goes. He's Ozpin's eyes and ears on the field after all. The best one in fact. "I wonder what the son of a bitch is up to right now."

/-/

"Total annihilation!" The in-game announcer exclaimed.

There goes the entire five-man team in this tournament arena game. Pythia, despite being a Grimm Seer with no hands to speak of, is demolishing the entire enemy team. The different outlook and mental processing of the Seer prove that Grimm is not always the mindless monsters people make out to be, but a competitive and calculating beast.

"How are you wiping the entire floor with that guy? Soaring Ninja is one of the most stat hungry and skill demanding characters in the game right now." Jaune watched his personal Seer move in to destroy their towers. "At least they aren't calling you out on it."

Probably because this ranked match is the highest tier one can achieve, and most of the toxic players are routed out at this tier.

Pythia's tentacles were wrapped around the scroll controller, completely encompassing it. Don't be fool by how stupid that looks, Pythia can react quickly in a heartbeat, performing whatever combo or tactical maneuver at a glance of the situation.

The Seer hissed, belittling him and anyone who thought so little of Soaring Ninja.

"Half of your forum posts asked him to be buffed. Your performances with him prove otherwise."

Another hiss and a wave of its tentacles told Jaune that it still thinks Soaring Ninja needs a buff.

"Well, I don't know anything about balancing the game." It's vacation time all week for Jaune and Pythia. Salem doesn't need currently doesn't need them for the week, so he gets to fool around and experience a normal, somewhat wealthy lifestyle for the days coming by. "What's your win streak this time?"

Today was a great day. Jaune was fully rested, went out and ate breakfast, took a walk in the Grimm infested forest, and explored everything Vale has to offer. The last one is actually an exaggeration, but he might actually get close during vacation.

Jaune is a master at blending in with society. He swapped his gray robe for his Pumpkin Pete's hoodie and jeans and had Pythia nested in his hood to hide. Pythia was smaller than most of the Grimm Seer, so it wasn't much of an issue. It does get a bit tangledly inside his hoodie with Pythia's tentacle wrapped around him…

And now Jaune is bored. After their exploration was finished for the day.

It wasn't that Jaune slacks off during vacation, he still kept to his training Salem laid out for him. It's just that there isn't much to do or anyone to interact with. There's Pythia, but barely any human and faunus to talk to. Normal ones, not the crazy ones or Grimm.

No friends to speak of, not counting Pythia.

Aside from reading comic books, playing games, watching TV and exploring; life is dull.

"Eight winning sprees? Are you going to try and beat your record this time?" The highest winning spree Pythia achieved is twenty-seven. "No? Trying to master another game? Which genre? Oh, first-person shooter?"

Yup, this is the life.

Hopefully, they'll find something interesting at the central commercial district tomorrow.

/-/

"… And as an apology for my behavior earlier. I insist we head down to the central commercial district for lunch and shopping tomorrow. All on me."

Ruby blinked, uncertain if Weiss was being serious. The heiress was acting out of character, smiling softly at them. Maybe she's only smiling at Pyrrha since she seems rather attached to the Mistral champion.

The tiny heiress definitely has a thing for tall girls.

"You don't have to be, uh. Generous." Ruby slowly constructed her response. "An apology is good enough."

Weiss shook her head. "I don't feel that is enough to make up for my misdemeanor. I insist. Besides, I heard there is an armament shop in the district that has the highest number of reviews. Majority of it praising their service."

That was enough for Ruby.

"I do need some spare parts for my weapon…" She mused.

"Excellent." Weiss clapped her hands and turned her attention to Pyrrha. "Pyrrha? Is this arrangement alright with you?"

There was hesitation on the champion's end. The heiress together with Mistral's champion will attract a lot of attention from the media. Nonetheless, Pyrrha really wants to explore the city of Vale. Only one way to resolve that.

"Well… I am willing to go."

"Great!"

"Under the condition that we disguise ourselves."

"Huh?"

* * *

**Omake:**

"And your children…?"

"Are dead." Salem flatly said, glaring at her former husband, Ozpin/Ozma. "Our first and final argument resulted in the destruction of our home as well."

Ozma hid is sneer behind his mug. "You were the one that fired the first shot. I fired back in self-defense."

"You were taking our daughters with you to gods know where! Away from our heavily fortified and luxurious castle!"

"That's still not a good reason to attack me."

"Why you…!"

Another tongue-lashing erupted between the two immortals.

The marriage counselor, or couple's therapist, shakily stared at Jaune and Glynda. The poor, middle-aged woman was trembling with fear as another series of magic bolts tore through the roof and walls. She may have years of working with estranged couples, like Raven and Tai, but this one is on a whole new level.

"Help…" The poor counselor whimpered.

She really did not sign up for this.

Jaune opened his mouth to step in, but the sound of Ozma slamming his mug down on the table got everyone's attention.

"You see?!" He angrily pointed at Salem. "This is exactly what I am talking about! Ever since my first death, she changed so much!"

"I don't want to hear it from a man who hijacks another man's body without their consent and eventually replace them! How many women did you have children with, hm?"

Ozma sputtered at that. "T-that's not my fault. My second incarnation already had children before I –"

"My point's been proven." Salem crossed her arms smugly. "I am in the right; you are in the wrong."

"That proves nothing. Stop acting like a child."

"I've been stuck in a tower for many years, Ozma. Surely you don't expect me to act like your average woman."

"Now, now." The marriage counselor was on the verge of having a heart attack. "Let's talk about rebuilding trust with…"

"No." The immortal couple simultaneously rejected that. All the trust that had with each other is long gone.

"W-well, how about we start at the beginning? When d-did the problems start?"

"The moment this idiot decided that Vitamin C is for losers!"

"The moment this girl decided to try drowning herself in the Grimm pool!"

Things quickly spiraled into their typical bickering, followed by sparks of magic generating from their hands. The counselor squeaked and hid behind her large sofa chair.

"This is never going to end." Glynda slumped in her seat, looking very haggard after repairing the marriage counseling center, again.

"I feel you, big sis." Jaune sighed and handed her a warm cup of soothing tea. "Tea?"

"Yes. Thank you very much."

The two blondies wearily sighed, sipping on their tea and watching bolts of magic tore through the wall, again.

* * *

**Pardon our grammar.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Pardon our grammar, and maybe some word placement...**

**We had trouble hammering out this chapter, so it's been through the works trying to address some of the issues this story may be lacking. **

**In any case, updates are irregular and possibly slow due to school work. **

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

Pythia loves negativity. It's the very definition of what the Creatures of Grimm are. The troubled minds of humans and faunus are like intoxicating fumes to the Grimm Seer. Unless you're Jaune, in which case, Pythia finds his negativity very dull, tiring, and most importantly, stupid. One moment the blond human is cheerful and optimistic, the next day he's depressed and sulking. It's apparently one of those teenage angsts or phases, whatever people call it these days.

Why is Jaune moping around? How is a Grimm supposed to know? The Seer floated towards an absentminded Jaune, aimlessly pacing around the giant living room. He was already dressed in his Pumpkin Pete's Hoodie and blue jeans, ready to leave anytime now.

"Hey, Pythia. Just… Warming up for our tour of Vale, again." He sighed.

The Grimm Seer followed suit, 'sighing' along with its partner. It wrapped a handful of its tentacles around Jaune's arm, letting the dejected blond boy lug the Grimm around like a balloon. It might as well let Jaune pace whatever mood he had out in the living room.

He let out another sigh. "You know, Pythia." The Seer internally groaned, knowing where this is going. "I always wanted to be a hero, or a huntsman just like my grandfather and father. A sword and shield before me like one of those heroic statues and paintings."

A clicking noises came from Pythia. The sound of annoyance. Every single time Jaune gets moody, he starts talking about hero and shit.

"I know, I know. It's just that… I can't find my motivation in life. Travelling is cool, I get to see many things no one has ever seen before. It's just it gets boring. I don't have the same motivation I once had." He can't be the 'hero' if he's with Salem. He could try to be the best errand boy, but he's already good at that thanks to his sisters, so he'll need to find another source of motivation. "And not without endangering my family."

No way was he doing anything that would go against Salem.

"Yes, Pythia. This is called an existential crisis. You saw it on the TV shows before."

Pythia thinks this 'existential crisis' thing is stupid. From Pythia's perspective, following orders is good enough. If not, surviving and following instincts is the second. Everything else is optional or add-ons to this horrid game called life. At least, that's how the Seer sees things. Humans and faunus are weird creatures; always making drama and stupid things.

"This random thought just came up to my mind. Salem put me through rigorous training. Well, it was mostly dodging and some self-defense stuff." By rigorous training, Jaune meant Salem plopping him into the training room and had the Grimm clamber over him while Salem sat in her chair nearby, reading. He managed to get through his training without any weapons for the most part. "But how come I'm the only one without a cool weapon?"

Arthur Watts has his multichambered revolver and all those techno gears, Cinder with her bow sword hybrid, Tyrian with his dual wrist blade gun, and Hazel… Well, Hazel doesn't need a weapon to take care of things. He also doesn't count in Jaune's eyes. There's no way he can live up to the strength Hazel possesses, especially when the man starts injecting himself with Dust crystals.

And then there are Cinder's subordinates: Emerald has these dual-wielding scythe-like pistols, Mercury with his gun boots, Roman with his cane gun, and lastly, Neo with her umbrella sword. What does he have?

Pythia hissed and pointed at itself.

He has a Grimm as a weapon. A 'technically' living creature that shoots electricity, fire, and some sort of dark energy. Pythia can also do other amazing stuff like seeing through illusions, scanning entire areas, and the Grimm itself is deceptively strong and durable. It just didn't sit well with Jaune that Pythia is taking all those hits for him. The Seer is his partner after all and they've bonded, somewhat, within a short period of time.

"Yes, I know Pythia. You're my 'weapon'." He made air quotes with his fingers. "But do you really enjoy taking hits for me? What happens if the next guy we run into has a weapon or a semblance that can cut through you?"

That isn't exactly a problem since Pythia could regenerate as long as one of its quadruple cores stays intact. It's those tiny red orbs that float around Pythia's insides, thought Jaune does have a valid point. He is lacking some reliable tools to fall back on outside of his glove and Pythia.

Jaune paused, pondering on the idea of owning his own weapon. Crocea Mors was a family heirloom that he once intended to use, but it's better to have it remain in his family house. He didn't know a thing or two about using a sword and shield in the first place. Regardless, he could learn how. He still wants to invoke that knightly image he dreamt of when he was a child.

Pythia floated closer to his face, wondering what Jaune was up too.

"I got it!" If the Seer could raise an eyebrow, it would. "I'll ask Salem for a sword and shield! Then some armor to go along with it. I mean, I am the Everknight. I got the knight in my title. Shouldn't I be dressed like one? Yeah. My new motivation is to get a sword and shield and become the knight I always wanted to be."

He could feel Pythia staring at him incredulously. This was his newfound motivation? His solution to his existential crisis? Humans are weird. That or Jaune is slowly going insane, not that Pythia can blame him. When all your colleagues are all psychos or Grimm; aside from Pythia, you're bound to be slightly off.

"Don't give me that look. That's just the start." He began listing out his plans by counting with his fingers. "First I get my sword, shield, and armor. Then I'll start training with it. She did say I pick up quickly when it comes to combat training." He clenched his fist in front of him. "When we get back to the castle, I'll start training how to use a sword. That should kill my boredom."

Does Salem even know anything about sword and shield mastery? Considering all the ancient textbooks stored in Salem's castle, there must be something useful in those dusty books that he could learn. Jaune was certain that he saw an illustration of an armored guy wielding a large sword somewhere from one of those old combat manuals.

He could feel Pythia squeezing his arm. Jaune looked up and saw Pythia coiling several of its tentacles and swinging it around like a baseball bat.

"What about the quarterstaff?" The first weapon Jaune ever used was the wooden quarterstaff Salem imposed on him for parrying lessons. It was a useful and meaningful lesson for him to learn the basics of combat. A bit frightening at times since he was mostly parrying Salem's magic attacks as a means to channel his aura into the weapon. Otherwise, the stick would have shatter with a single attack from her. "I mean, yeah. A quarterstaff is okay, but I want a sword, you know. Oh, but we could add that. Have it a collapsible quarterstaff."

Salem did say to consult with her if he needs anything, now is a good time to make use of that.

An exhausted hissing noise escaped from Pythia as the Seer made a mental note to convey Jaune's request to Salem. It just can't get a grasp on Jaune's mental thinking. Most importantly, Pythia's worried that Jaune will no longer carry it in his hand should Jaune receive his weapons. It hoped that this is one of those teenage phases. The ones where a teenager gets interested in something like a hobby and then forgets in a week or so.

Otherwise, Jaune's warm hands will soon be holding cold, lifeless weapons instead of Pythia, and that is unacceptable. Well… It could always snuggle itself around his neck. Maybe strangle him, but not cripple or kill him.

"Okay. Let's get going. Where do you want to go this time?"

/-/

There's no doubt about it. Weiss is something Mistralians would call, a tsundere. The heiress of the Schnee Dust Company displayed hostility towards their leader, Ruby Rose, while passively act in a caring manner down the line. At least, that's how Pyrrha saw Weiss.

Perhaps the heiress has a thing for girls around her height, but the attitude Weiss gives to Ruby is definitely that of a tsundere.

"You dolt. Stop fogging up the window display. You're embarrassing us."

And potentially blow their cover. Both Pyrrha and Weiss had to disguise themselves before going out since they were recognizable to the public. Pyrrha is an internationally renowned tournament fighter and champion, and Weiss is the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, the most powerful, largest, and important company in Remnant.

"Sorry." Ruby meekly scooted back from the window display. Her face was turning slightly red in embarrassment. "I can't help myself. They're so cool."

"Don't start drooling."

The Vale's commercial districts are the go-to shopping place for any shoppers or tourists. Food, clothing, jewelry, services, Mistralian and Atlesian style outlets, the list goes on. There's a little bit of everything in Vale, and it sometimes feels like home.

"Shall we go in?" Pyrrha asked them, starting to feel uncomfortable out in the open.

"Well, Ruby? I suppose I'll defer this activity to you."

Ruby blanked out at the unfamiliar word. "Uh."

"I'm letting you lead the way."

"Oh!"

Yup. Definitely a tsundere.

Pyrrha can't help but giggle at their interactions as they entered the rather large store. The first thing that stuck out to them is the bald old man that seems to run nearly every store in Vale. Seriously, he is everywhere.

"… Is it me, or do I keep seeing the same shopkeeper over and over?"

"I thought I was the only one."

While the two were dwelling on the mystery of Shopkeep, Ruby was already zipping through the displays with sparkling eyes. New series, improved metal compositions, premium parts! It's everywhere in this store! She can't wait to purchase the high-quality materials for her baby, Crescent Rose. Well, Ruby isn't actually buying any of this. Weiss insists that she help buy whatever they decided to purchase today. It wasn't free-spending, mind you. Weiss set a budget on how much they could spend.

In Ruby's moment of blissfulness, she failed to realize that she was homing straight towards a tall blond boy till she was inches away from him.

"H-hey!" The boy slid out of her way.

Ruby let out a squeak and flailed her arms around, trying to regain her footing and balance as she came to a sudden stop. "Sorry!"

They awkwardly stood there, not knowing what to say or do from there on out. Though there seems to be a look of recognition on Jaune's face, the look was quickly discarded before Ruby could notice it. It doesn't help that neither one of them could look each other in the eyes.

Her eyes trailed towards the center of his hoodie. She couldn't help but stifle a laugh by what she saw.

"W-what?" Jaune looked very flustered. This was the few times he interacted with a girl that isn't his sisters, Cinder, or Salem and she's already laughing at him. "What is it?"

She grinned widely, barely containing her laughter as she pointed at his hoodie. "What is that?!"

A logo of a dark-colored, adorable rabbit head was embedded into Jaune's hoodie.

"What? My hoodie?" He looked confused. "What about it?"

Now Ruby was struggling to contain her laughter. "It… It…"

"Yes…?"

"It's got a cute little bunny on it!" Her goofy smiling expression broke down into a face contorted with uncontrollable laughter. "A little bunny!"

"It's Pumpkin Pete! You know, from the cereal?"

She laughed even harder. There's just something about the rabbit mascot that set off her funny bones. "What did you do?! Send in a box top for a prize?!"

"Yeah, fifty."

Ruby outright exploded in laughter, ignoring the stares that went her way. Jaune slumped over and made a pouty face. Getting laughed at by a girl really hurts. While they struggled to come to terms with their emotions, neither one of them realized that Weiss had made her appearance behind Ruby. The heiress did not look happy.

Raising a fist, Weiss punched Ruby across the shoulder, silencing her laughter and sending the poor girl to her knees.

"Gugh!" Ruby's eyes went pure white, her mouth agape in shock.

"I am sorry about my friend here." Weiss flinched slightly upon labeling Ruby as her friend. Acquaintances would have been a more proper word. "She's… Err." What should she say that isn't too belittling of her team leader? "She didn't get enough sleep last night. She's tired."

An awkward silence descended upon the four teenagers.

/-/

"Are we really robbing a Dust store in broad daylight?"

Roman Torchwick gave the White Fang soldier a flat look. If it weren't for Cinder forcing him to work with these faunus, he wouldn't. It's that simple. Unfortunately, that's not how life works. He needs the manpower to do whatever Cinder wants him to do, and the White Fang are the only group that can be relied upon to do just that.

"Yes, we're robbing a Dust store in broad daylight." He scowled, readjusting his fancy bowler hat. "Anyone else has any more questions?" None of the White Fang said anything. "Grab all the Dust that you can, threaten people if you need too, and get out of there. I don't have to repeat myself for the third time."

Seriously, why does Cinder need this much Dust?

No time to dwell on the matter. He has a heist to attend and he does not want to get on Cinder's bad side should he fall short on his promises. And he certainly does not want to piss off whoever Cinder's master. That cold, otherworldly voice still haunts him and Neo every night.

There are times where Roman wished he never went down as a high profiled thief. He got way too cocky about evading the authorities which lead to Cinder finding him and Neo. Now, they're forced into something that goes very, very deep. A world where everything they knew isn't what they thought they knew. Still, they must continue doing what they do best.

Lie, steal, cheat, and survive.

/-/

Jaune was internally panicking.

Out of sheer bad luck, he encountered the three girls from Emerald Forest. Pythia had to squeeze his chest to prevent him from acting like an idiot. Luckily, none of them knew who he was thanks to the magic glove that Salem provided. He still has no idea what Salem put into his glove that makes it do what it does.

"Uh, yeah! I am. Tired." The girl that nearly ran into him shifted her eyes nervously around. "Tired. Yup. Tired." Another awkward pause; Ruby's face blanked. "I'm Ruby."

The white-haired girl beside her facepalmed, while the red-haired girl couldn't help but grin.

"Jaune." He knew they were huntresses-in-training since he met them before, but he has to play the normal civilian part. "You three are all huntresses-in-training?"

If Salem's introductory lessons are to be recalled, people aiming to become licensed huntsman or huntress usually start off at Combat Academy, then move up to Huntsman Academy. There are, however, many other ways to become a licensed huntsman. In any case, he's jealous that they're living out his former dream.

Ruby looked proud. "Yup! First-years students!"

"That's cool."

"Wait, you're not a current student at a combat or huntsman academy?" Ruby found it a bit odd that a normal teenager is in the mechashift weapon parts section. Unless he's a weapon dork like her, most people aside from huntsmen prefer simplistic weapons that have already been manufactured instead of building their own mechashift ones. This section of the store is just that, parts for building complex mechashift weapons. "Why are you looking for a weapon here?"

"I, uh. Travel a lot. All over the kingdoms." He struggled to come up with a decent excuse without making himself look suspicious. "I encounter Grimm on a daily basis during my travels, so I'm looking for a weapon or weapon design. You know. To defend myself."

It's the truth, in a sense. He sees Grimm every day aside from Pythia who doesn't count, and he is looking around for a weapon design so he could defend himself in the future. It's just not the Grimm he's defending himself against, but people. Of course, anyone would assume that he's looking for a weapon to fight against Grimm.

The white-haired girl with sunglasses looked at him up and down, unsure what to make of him. "You? Travel?"

He felt attacked by that. "Yup."

"Where have you been to?" The red-haired girl tried to strike up a casual conversation as they moved down the numerous case displays.

Come to think of it, they haven't introduced themselves yet beside Ruby. Oh well.

"Wind Path, Argus, Kuchinashi… I went to Vacuo and traveled to some of their major settlements. I got to sightsee around Lake Matsu, some minor villages like Higanbana…" A loud explosion ruptured the calmness; the very foundation of the store was sent trembling, causing everyone to duck and panic. "What was that?"

He could feel Pythia's tentacles coiling around him, relishing the influx of negativity.

The huntresses-in-training glanced at each other and nodded.

"We're going to find out! Team RWN. Move out!" Ruby waved goodbye as they ran towards the exit. "Bye, Jaune! It was nice knowing you! Sorry that I almost ran into you!"

"Uh, sure. No worries. Bye." He waved back. Another explosion shook the store once more. "What is going on out there?"

Jaune made plans to visit the arcade today and take the dance pads. Both of them. But with this unexpected turn of events, he's fairly certain that his plans are out the window.

Underneath his hoodie, Pythia shuffled in anticipation.

"You want to see what's up out there?"

Pythia hissed delightfully. It wants to see the chaos outside, maybe even join in on it.

"I don't know about this." He wasn't a fan of getting involved in whatever was happening outside. Not with all these innocent people running around.

Once again, Pythia insists they 'take a look' by squeezing his chest.

Jaune sighed, "So much for our vacation."

/-/

"Where did these brats come from?!" A White Fang grunt caught sight of three teenage girls tearing through their perimeters.

Several White Fang grunts fired their assault rifle wildly at the onslaught of Team RWN. All of their bullets were blocked by a spinning red scythe, followed by a small metal aspis shield. The small timed terrorists were no match for the skilled and talented huntresses-in-training as they easily swept through them. Weiss, in particular, was displaying great disdain but refrained from causing any unnecessary harm.

The White Fang and the Schnee Dust Company have been locked in a bloody conflict for as long as she could remember. Weiss's childhood life was practically ruined because of them. Every day, her father would come home… Furious.

But she cannot let her emotions get the better of her here. She's better than these murderers. She will not swoop to their level!

Three White Fang soldiers jumped out from the shadows and pointed their weapons at them and opened fire. Pyrrha moved ahead of the group, blocking the initial volley, and threw her shield like a frisbee, directed at their heads. The shield ricocheted from their heads, bouncing between the three White Fang grunts, rendering them unconscious.

"I can see more inside the store." The shield bounced back to Pyrrha's arm. "They're running towards the back. There must be a back exit."

"We won't let them get away!"

"The Dust they're carrying can be highly volatile if we're not too careful," Weiss warned them, hoping to avoid another repeat of Ruby blowing them up. As they neared the building's corner, a high whistling sound could be heard heading towards them. "Watch out!"

A bright explosion ruptured the ground, pushing Team RWN back. Thick black smoke coated the area, hindering their view. Three more gunshots sundered the air, followed by high whistling noises. That was a good indicator of what was heading their way.

"Weiss!"

"I'm on it." Stabbing her rapier to the floor, Weiss constructed a giant wall of ice to tank the hits. The explosive rounds struck the ice wall, shattering and melting a good portion of it. The construct of the ice wall damper the explosion, and the cold air shifted the black smog away, clearing their sight. "Over there!"

Roman Torchwick, the infamous criminal of Vale; stood atop of a nearby building, looking down on them.

"Oh great." A lone cigar dropped to the ground below him, it's lit still flickering bright orange. "I was wondering who decided to show up. Hello again, Red." He greeted Ruby sarcastically. "Aren't you all supposed to be in school today?"

Ruby scowled, "Roman."

"That's my name." He tipped his hat and leveled his cane at them. "And you're in my way."

A large explosion rocked the district.

/-/

The thief knew he was outmatched against Team RWN even with his White Fang allies outnumbering the huntresses-in-training. It didn't matter since the majority of them were already dealt with anyway. It was only reasonable that he decided to cover his escape by tearing up the roads and buildings with his explosive rounds. He wasn't your average crime boss, oh no. Roman had huntsman training along with numerous combat experiences, and street smarts. His ability to evade Team RWN proved just that.

"You're very persistent!"

Roman dodged several ice shards shooting up from the ground and threw a fire Dust crystal behind him. Without looking back, he rested his cane over his shoulder and fired, hitting the fire crystal dead on. A deafening boom shook the air as the Dust crystal exploded, fogging the air with black smoke.

No time celebrate his handiwork, Roman has a flight to catch.

And it looks like he had just lost the brats. Smiling to himself, Roman glanced back at the wrong time, failing to see Ruby flitting out in front of his path. By the time he looked forward, his expression instantly turned into a frown just in time for Ruby to smack him across the face with the blunt end of her massive scythe.

The impact sent the man sprawling on the floor and in the process, knocked Roman's hat off. Master thief material right there.

"I got him!"

"Good work." Weiss caught up to them and encased Roman in a cylindrical ice block from the neck down. "There. That should hold him."

"I'm not into this kind of thing." Roman taunted, returning to his calm and controlled demeanor. "Too cold for my liking."

"Quiet you. Pyrrha, if you please?"

"With pleasure." She rolled Roman towards the center of the roof. "I can hear the sirens already. How should we move him? It's a long drop up here."

"Oh, don't let me down now." Roman laughed, signaling Neo to make her move.

Instead of Neo cutting in on the huntresses-in-training celebration, a powerful fire blast flew through the air, shattering Roman icy prison, scattering blue mists around them. Roman was off guard by that, but he quickly took advantage of the confusion and scrambled towards his weapon, snatching it off the ground. He twirled his cane and was about to fire until he saw the Everknight several meters away from him.

Roman couldn't help but frown; struggling to remember the Everknight's face. It didn't help that Everknight looks like he just finished shopping for clothes, swapping out his ornamented gray robe jacket for a red leather one. Floating beside him was the Grimm Seer crackling with electricity and blazing embers around its tentacles.

"I'll take it from here, Roman." The Everknight calmly told him off as he ripped out a price tag from his zipped up red jacket. "You've done enough for the day."

"Right." Roman shuffled back, not wanting to get involved in anything now that the Everknight is stepping in. "I'll be on my way then."

"H-hey! Wait!" Ruby angrily yelled at the fleeing Roman, only to pause when she saw her teammates making a grim and guarded expression. "Uh, guys…" She turned around and saw the Everknight and his floating Grimm companion beside him. "Oh."

"Nice to meet you all again."

* * *

**Omake:**

"Let a Beowolf take a bite out of his legs and he'll talk, okay?!" Salem hissed at the transmission running through Pythia. She was situated in an office room surrounded by glass and moving clock gears. The person on the other end of the Seer mumbled something back unintelligibly. "I'm in a parent-teacher conference, deal with it yourself!" She ended the transmission and pushed the Pythia back to Jaune and turned to face the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. "Anyway, you said Oscar is catching up very quickly. That is absolutely wonderful."

Ozpin pinched his forehead and rested his elbows on the table. "Salem. For the last time. Please don't take such gruesome dealings with you here."

"And why is that, Ozma?"

"You know why."

"Oh? And I don't suppose you wouldn't happen to do the same on your end?" Salem waved her hand, gesturing the entire office. "With all of this… Huntsman Academies, sending children to fight your wars and to their deaths. Why can't I be concern about Oscar's wellbeing and ensure that he doesn't fall victim to the same scheme you put every huntsman and huntress through?"

The two immortals eyed each other. One was smug, the other was annoyed. But they both refrain from fighting in the school. For Oscar's sake. The boy has already been through enough for one lifespan and he certainly doesn't need more on his plate. Especially not from Ozpin or Salem.

"I want a divorce."

Salem rolled her eyes, "Good luck finding someone who can nullify our marriage contract that still exists somewhere till this day from thousands of years ago. You know the kingdom's rules. Your own rules, no less."

"I did not make that rule." Ozpin set down his mug, "The policymakers were the ones that screwed us over. They didn't consider those who were married millennia before their time."

"Well," Salem sat back in her chair, looking smugger by the seconds. "if you had told them the truth, this wouldn't have happened."

"Like you're any better."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Ahem." Glynda coughed into her hand. "If you two would please not go off track and continue the parent-teacher conference regarding Oscar Pine, that would be great."

"Of course." Ozpin cleared his throat and resumed his professional exterior.

Salem shook her head and laughed at Ozpin's professional façade, expecting her to buy or take it seriously. "That doesn't suit you. Oh, Ozma. What happened to the old days of our time together? You weren't like this back then. Don't be so uptight when I'm around. After all, isn't that what our poor, late marriage counselor beg to us?"

Ozpin's eyes twitched. "As if you listen to anything anyone says."

"Please tell me we found a replacement for their marriage counselor." Their first and previous one had to 'retire' for the rest of her life, leaving Jaune and Glynda the task of finding their superiors a new one. This didn't do well for their psyche; having two bickering immortals in close proximity with one another is a recipe for disaster. "Have you expanded our search on an international level?"

Jaune sighed, sharing the same wearily look with Glynda. "Sorry big sis. Not yet. I'm trying my best to find one. We may have to… Downplay their marriage issues."

"That is a huge understatement."

* * *

**Pardon our grammar.**

**We originally wanted to Omake to be about Pythia, especially with the recent episode at this time (RWBY V7Ch11), but we didn't like how it turned out. Hopefully this Omake wasn't so dull.**


	6. Chapter 6

**It's been months since we last updated this story. This chapter might be a bit dull, but it fleshes out the characters a bit and set things up for the next.**

**As for grammar and punctuation... We're going to have to see how the beta reader system works.**

**Let us know if there's some misspelling or misplacement here and there. Poor proofreaders.**

* * *

**Pardon our grammar.**

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

_What should I do?! _Ruby internally panicked inside her rose cluttered mind. _What should we do?!_

Team RWN stood on the rooftop rooted to the solid floor like deers in headlights. The adults, professional huntsmen, and huntresses, all seem to be extremely cautious of the mysterious boy known as the Everknight. It doesn't help that they've seen him square off against Ruby's uncle, Qrow Branwen, who is surprisingly highly regarded by Professor Glynda and Ozpin as a skilled and talented huntsman, and managed to escape without looking like he put much effort in his fight against Qrow.

Granted he somehow had the Creatures of Grimm backing him up, but it looked like he wasn't taking Qrow seriously in his fight, and according to the man himself, was nearly 'done in' on their first encounter.

All of those speaks volume on just how dangerous the Everknight is.

Standing several meters away from them in his new red leather jacket, that looks like it's been bought recently. The Everknight just stood there menacingly, with his hands in his pockets and a floating jellyfish-like Grimm next to him.

The air was filled with polices siren, but up on the rooftop. Only the sound of crackling electricity and burning embers from the jellyfish-like Grimm could be heard between Team RWN and the Everknight.

"What do you want?" Weiss steadily and icily asked. Her Dust chambered rapier was quietly rotating, stopping on the ice Dust vial.

The Everknight looked thoughtful for a moment before answer, "Just helping out an acquaintance, nothing much."

"You mean Torchwick?" That made sense to Ruby. Criminals helping out other criminals. "Or the White Fang?"

Weiss would have scoffed at the notion of Roman or the Everknight, who appears to be human, working with the human-hating faunus group known as the White Fang. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that Roman's timely intervention wasn't a coincidence. It couldn't be that they were working together, could they?

The Everknight simply shrugged, and slightly tilt his head to the side to gauge the distance of the police sirens. His eyes, however, never left them.

Team RWN tensed their entire body, uncertain if they should make a break for it, or fight back. Logically speaking, they should run to safety, especially with the police quickly closing in. If they decided to fight, they might be able to trap the Everknight with the help of law enforcement. Should a fight break out, the damage might not be pretty, and Ruby has already been reprimanded by Glynda on that matter.

Not to mention they might not be a match against the Everknight, even with Pyrrha.

After a moment of what appears to be the Everknight deliberating his next move, the Everknight took a step back and jumped down from the rooftop they shared. The jellyfish-like Grimm also went with him, and before they knew it, only they were left on the rooftop, still posed in their fighting stance.

"… I believe he just left." Pyrrha said dumbfoundedly.

/-/

'_Crisis adverted!' _Jaune mentally cheered as he dashed between buildings.

Pythia trailed behind him, keeping watch if anybody were trying to follow Jaune. For now, there doesn't appear to be anyone tracking the blondie down. With a hissed, Pythia gave Jaune the 'all clear' for him to blend in among the citizens of Vale.

"Got it." His sprint went to a crawling walk and turned into an empty narrow alleyway where he took off his red leather jacket. "Feels like a waste, but it can't be helped…" He then handed the red leather jacket to Pythia, who promptly reduced it to ash with one of its flaming tentacles. "Thanks, Pythia. Now, to blend in normally among the normal people of Vale."

The Grimm seer hissed and nested itself inside Jaune's hoodie, wrapping its tentacles around his upper torso.

"Man. That thing was stuffy." He mumbled to himself before walking out into the streets, blending in among the regular people of Vale. Probably because he had to wear his jacket underneath his hoodie. "I should probably head back now."

He weaved his way through the crowds of people, enjoying the weather and air which felt unbelievable great. Meanwhile, the sound of police sirens continued to blare throughout the city. But for Jaune, who has dealt with unimaginable horrors and stuff, found it relatively peaceful.

/-/

Team RWN found themselves briefly questioned by the authorities before letting them go when several shop owners and civilians testified on their behalf. The officers were kind enough to contact Beacon and explain the situation before Glynda arrived at the police station to pick the trios up.

Now, they stood meekly in a bullhead flying back to Beacon Academy.

Taking a deep breath, Ruby set her back straight and turned to face her combat instructor. "I take full responsibility."

Glynda raised an eyebrow, "For what?"

Ruby paused, trying to wrack up why she was ready to take the blame for something. It was an impulsive move on her part, trying to be a leader by bearing the admonishment her professors might have for her team.

"Uhhh… For being… Ummm… Being reckless and… Going after Torchwick, maybe?" She managed, thinking back on their actions and what Glynda said to her when they first met.

Roman Torchwick is a criminal with huntsman training and managed to evade authorities for years. A criminal who is competent enough to do that is considered dangerous for three first year huntress-in-training.

"At least you've acknowledged that." Glynda huffed and tapped on her scroll. "Overall, I have no criticism of your reaction and performance to the Dust robberies. Your encounter with our mysterious person of interest raises some concern in his involvement in the recent series of Dust heists…"

"And the White Fang's involvement?" Weiss tentatively asked. "I found it odd we've encountered and hindered by Torchwick's inclusion during the robberies."

Glynda eyed the heiress with a professional expression, "Their possible correlation is currently under investigation. As such, I cannot speak on that matter for now."

"Of course."

"Now, I do believe you had an eventful day." Glynda pushed up her glasses, reflecting the light off of the lens. "The headmaster suggests you all rest for the day. I would recommend doing just that, seeing how there will be classes tomorrow."

"We've arrived, ma'am." Their pilot said through the intercoms.

The bullhead slowed and landed gently on the landing pad.

"Ruby!" A blond girl ran towards the crimson reaper and gave her a hug, "Oh! I was so worried about you!"

"Gah! Yang! Not. Infront. Can't!" Ruby's felt her entire body creaked from Yang's oppressive strength.

"Um…" Pyrrha meekly interrupted Yang's stranglehold, "I don't think she can breathe."

Sure enough, Ruby's face was starting to turn shades of blue and purple.

"Oh, sorry Rubes." Yang released her hold on her younger half-sister and patted her on the shoulder. "Got a little bit too emotional there. With you finally being independent, making friends," Her eyes flickered red as she cracked her knuckles. "and enemies."

Ruby rubbed the base of her shoulder blade and gave her sister a deadpanned look. "I was fine before you came along and nearly crush all my bones, Yang." She paused and glanced around. "Say, where's the rest of your team?"

Yang was part of Team RNBY, pronounced ruby, much to her bewilderment and Ruby's woe. Seriously, what are the odds?

"Oh, Ren is getting dragged around by Nora while my partner is out in Vale shopping for her books." Yang breezed her hair with a hand. "So, I'll be 'yanging' around with you guys!" The entirety of Team RWN couldn't help but groan at the godawful pun. Even Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "Okay, maybe that was worse than any of my other puns…"

"All of your puns are, Yang." Ruby sighed.

Weiss nodded, "Indeed."

"…" Pyrrha didn't say anything, but she did have to agree with her teammates on that matter.

Yang mockingly gasped and clutched her chest, "No! That can't be true! My puns should be punny!"

"I am declaring immediate mandatory isolation and rest for Team RWN," Ruby said with a flat expression.

"Agreed." Weiss nodded, dying to get away from the pun telling blondie bombshell.

"Aw, you guys are so _Weiss_ to me."

/-/

"My apologies for this sudden request." Salem humbly voiced her appreciation to her Everknight. "The book was recently released a day ago, and I was in desperate need of reading materials."

"Happy to help." Jaune smiled and shelved several books into his satchel. "I'll deliver these to you personally tomorrow."

Salem looked surprised, "Oh? So soon?"

He nodded, "I, um. I wanted to train more instead of lounging around."

"Ah, I believe Pythia notified me on that matter." Salem shifted slightly on her seat with a thoughtful look. "I have been rather neglectful of your training. It would be a waste not to continue polishing your skills and talents… Very well, I will be working on the details of your training regimen starting now."

"Thank you, ma'am!"

"No. Thank you." She smiled, "Is there anything else you would like to say before I end this transmission?"

"Not at the moment."

"I will be seeing you soon then. Have a good day, my Everknight."

"You too, Salem." The transmission ended with a crackling hiss, leaving Jaune and Pythia alone in their sparse house. "Ah. What a day." Jaune stood up and stretch his arms. "What time is it? I have to make dinner for the night. Should I just order an extra-large pizza? I could bring some with me on the trip back to the castle."

Pythia hissed with disinterest and floated towards the TV, turning it on to the news channel.

And of course, when you're on Vale News Network broadcast, there's always Lisa Lavender. "… Strings of Dust robbery have been plaguing the commercial district lately, committed by members of the White Fang. Several individuals responsible for today's robbery have already been apprehended by the authorities. Police chief…"

Jaune tuned out the television as he dialed a local pizza shop. As he raised the scroll to his ear, he felt a chill run down his spine. Whirling around, Jaune saw nothing out of the ordinary. Plus, Pythia wasn't reacting at all to that.

Must have been the air conditioning.

/-/

Blake Belladonna silently cursed the person who bought the newly released, and only Ninja of Love in stock from Tukson's Book Trade. The cat faunus never thought she had this much spite within her against a person she'd never encountered.

She should have taken the quickest bullhead to Vale during her free period today, or during lunch for that matter.

"Can I place an order for it?" On the surface, Blake's expression didn't show much. Inside, however, she was raging like a rabid stray cat. "And have it reserved?"

Tukson nodded, "Sure, thing." He wrote down Blake's order for another Ninja of Love and noted to order several more copies of it. "How's Beacon?"

"It's been… Pretty well so far." Blake sighed, rubbing her neck.

He raised an eyebrow, "Trouble already?"

"No. Just that two of my teammates have… Let's just say they can be hyperactive and explosive. Figuratively and literally." Her partner, Yang Xiao Long, and their leader's partner, Nora Valkyrie make a terrifying duo. To balance that, both her and Lie Ren are the complete opposite of them, which makes an interesting dynamic. "But they're great people." Blake said with a smile, "I like them."

Tukson smiled as well, "That's good. Have you contacted your parents yet?"

"I… No. I haven't." Blake leaned against the counter, "I'm not sure if I can even…"

"They'll forgive you." Tukson said firmly, "I know them long before you were born, Blake. They will forgive you. You're their daughter."

"But I can't forgive myself," Blake stressed, feeling slight guilt over what she treated them before leaving Menagerie to join Adam and the radical White Fang. "Can we talk about something else? I'm not in the mood to discuss this." More so since her favorite trilogy is currently not in stock.

"What do you want to talk about?" Tukson eyed the window display, watching people pass by, continuing with their daily lives as dusk sets across Vale.

Blake looks hesitant, "The White Fang. I heard it on the news that they've been the ones responsible for the recent strings of Dust robberies."

The giant faunus grunted, "I know you're reluctant to admit it, but I wouldn't be surprised at this stage." He reorganized a few stacks of books on the counter and set them aside, "They've started working with someone. Don't know who, but whoever they are, they manage to get Adam to follow them."

"… Tell me what you know."

/-/

"How's my little brother doing?" Saphron teased her little brother. "Still running deliveries across the kingdom?"

"Yup." Jaune said, popping the 'p'. "Making another run today. On an airship to Atlas." The courier company Jaune was supposed to be working for exists, but if anyone bothered doing a further in-depth look at his profile, they might find some oddities. Nothing that Dr. Watts can't handle, of course. "How's Adrian?"

Adrian Cotta-Arc is his nephew and Saphron's son. Jaune is considering visiting them in Argus someday, although trying to hide Pythia might be an issue.

"Doing alright. Thank you for the birthday money, by the way. You shouldn't have."

"Don't worry about it. I'm happy to give back to the family." Jaune cracked a smile, even though Saphron wouldn't be able to see it over the call since they weren't using video. "Everyone alright over there?"

"Yeah. Nothing much but me watching over Adrian, and Terra working at the CCT. Aside from fretting over everything that comes near Adrian, I'm bored."

"You're not the only one." Jaune chuckled under his breath.

A loud piercing screech could be heard from outside, startling both Arcs. "Jaune? What was that?"

"There's a large flying Grimm nearby." He lied. There were, in fact, several large flying Grimm escorting the autopiloted airship back to Salem's castle. The screech was just an alert that they were nearing their destination. "Don't worry about it. There are several heavily armed airships against one Grimm, but I gotta go just in case."

"Alright, stay safe little brother."

"You too, sis." He ended the call, pocked his scroll, and got up from his seat. Salem's castle loomed over them menacingly like a final boss's castle. To be fair, that is what Salem is to the world.

With another screech, the flying Grimm that were escorting Jaune dispersed, flying away to distant lands after having completed their job.

The airship slowly touched down and the door slid open. Jaune exited the aircraft and was greeted by Salem and a floating Geist with many bony protrusions on its body, forming a bone-like armor. Another notable feature of the Geist was that there's a large, glowing red scar across its mask, making it more intimidating.

"Welcome back, Jaune." Salem gently received the satchel containing her books. "I see everything are in order."

"We were lucky. The book you asked for only had one copy left."

"So, we were." Salem smiled and gesture for the Geist forward. "This Geist has been around when mankind began to polish their ability to combat the Creatures of Grimm, and against others. It has accumulated countless experiences and knowledge throughout centuries, particularly in close-quarter combat."

Jaune realized where this was going, "The Geist will be helping me in combat training."

Salem nodded, "That is correct. I will still be monitoring your training, but I believe you would learn greatly from it."

If may seem farfetched from an outsider's perspective, but Geists are probably one of the most intelligent Grimm out there compared to their brethren. Combined with Salem's vast knowledge and resources to draw from, Jaune will be getting his much-needed training and experience.

"That's great." Jaune got a closer look at the Geist, who simply stared at him. "Uh, nice to meet you?"

The Geist returned Jaune's courtesy greeting with a ghostly growl.

"Let's not linger out in the open." Salem ushered them inside her castle. "We can begin as soon as you've prepared yourself."

"Speaking of preparation." Jaune wasn't used to asking for things from anybody in general, "I was wondering about having my own armor and weapon commissioned."

"It will be done. I do believe you are in need of new gears as you continue to reside among us." Salem eyed Jaune with curiosity, "Pythia has provided me some details on what you would like, but details must be clarified once we start the process."

"Oh, right. Sure!" Jaune excitedly kept pace with Salem while Pythia and the ancient Geist appeared to be conversing with each other. The rhythmic clicking, hisses, and ghostly growls permeated the air, not that Jaune or Salem mind it. "I was thinking of a sword and shield. Like Crocea Mors."

"The Arc Household heirloom." Salem hummed, "I don't believe that is all you would wish for?" Her question caused Jaune to bashfully scratch his cheek. "You may ask more from me, Jaune. What you have done for me is a service I can't possibly seek from others. Of course, if you're unwilling, then understand that I will still hear out your request when you are ready."

"T-thank you, Salem." Jaune composed himself as their footsteps echoed throughout the empty, solid corridor. "To be honest, I don't actually know if I want another weapon along with the sword and shield. I trained with a quarterstaff, and enjoyed using the short spear…"

"Then experiment with them. Wield them. Make your own path." Salem said firmly, "Practice makes perfect after all. You may find yourself adept, seeing how quickly you were able to pick up on our lessons."

"It w-was nothing."

"Jaune." Salem turned to face him like a stern mother, "You shouldn't belittle yourself like that. You have talent. You have skills that constantly grows exponentially. Do not look down on yourself simply because you're not confident in your current state. Continue to learn and grow, Jaune. That is how all great people came to be."

Jaune nodded, feeling slightly inspired by her short spiel. "Yes, ma'am."

She smiled softly. "Good. Come along now. There's much to do."

* * *

**Omake:**

"It's good to be back at the castle." Jaune happily strolled down Salem's keep along with Pythia, floating beside him. "You know, Pythia. I wonder what everybody is doing in their rooms right now."

Pythia hissed, not thinking it's a good idea since the emotion radiating off of all their rooms is terrifying, even for a Grimm, and that's saying something.

"What do you mean it's not a good idea?" Several paces ahead of an opened doorway, leading to Dr. Arthur Watts personal quarters. "Oh, hey! Dr. Watts's door is open. Let's go check up on the doctor."

He knocked on the door frame and peaked his head in. The doctor's personal space was littered with machines, papers, and would have appeared to be normal were it not for ten glass-like cutouts of General James Ironwood with bullet holes punched through them.

Far off near a corner, Dr. Watts was savagely stabbing one of those glass-like cutouts of Ironwood with a glowing knife. "You never! Appreciated! My! Genius!" He seethed, intensifying the brutal shanking. "Choosing that fat imbecile over me! Die, James! Die!"

"Okie Dokie…" Jaune quietly shuffled away from the door and down the hallway. "Let's leave Watts to let out his stress... Hey, there's Hazel room."

Hazel's room was opened. He was curious to see what the giant man does in his free time, much less what his room looks like. A person's room often tells much about that individual after all. Unbeknownst to Jaune, Pythia stayed clear away from Hazel's room, disturbed by the amount of negative energy coming from the man's room.

Jaune did another courtesy knock and glanced into Hazel's room.

Huddled in a corner, hugging a pillow while being surrounded by pictures of his deceased sister, is Hazel Rainart.

"Don't worry, imoto." He sniffed, "I'll avenge you. Onii-chan will avenge you. I swear."

"…" Jaune pulled back and turned to face Pythia, looking very disturbed. "Is this why Salem never comes down to this floor?"

Pythia silently pointed a tentacle at another door down the halls.

It was Tyrian's…

Somehow, they could hear his maniacal whispering from here. "Yes… Another Salem figurine for my collection."

Jaune swiftly turned on his heel and hastily walked towards the stairwell, with Pythia already beating him there seconds before. As it turns out, there were far more horrifying and disturbing things than the Creatures of Grimm.

* * *

**Pardon our grammar.**

**Let us know if there's some misspelling or misplacement here and there. We're poor proofreaders. Well... Don't proofread your own stories.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Another update. Hopefully, we didn't misspell or misplace our words here and there.**

**Pardon our grammar.**

* * *

**Chapter 7:**

Salem wasn't joking when she said there was much to do.

To start off, there were three main components to his training: training his aura, physical training like combat/working out, or going over combat manuals and recordings. The last one serves more of a medley between reference and literature. Getting acquainted with ancient combat manuals and reviewing over Vytal Festival footage helps facilitate a better understanding of just how diverse combat has become with the introduction of newer weapons.

Speaking of combat, Jaune's sparring partner is the ancient Geist whom he now calls Gerald.

"Whoa!" Jaune skittered back, feeling the heavy strike vibrating throughout his entire body. Blocking just a single attack from Gerald is like trying to fully stop a Beringel's punch.

"Understanding your opponent's strength is crucial when you find yourself lacking in the face of such an adversary." Salem lectured without looking up from her book. The Grimm Queen was there to help 'translate' what Gerald the Geist is conveying. While Jaune can understand Pythia perfectly, in a sense, Gerald… It's more like an 'accent' sort of thing. Plus, Salem has a much better understanding and translation of what any Grimm has to 'say' since she's the Queen of Grimm. "An ideal response to that early bout is to avoid the attack or withdraw when blocking to lessen the impact."

"I understand." Jaune huffed and shook his arm to loosen himself. "Again."

Gerald had taken possession of a large full suited, heavy plate armor plagued with black veins, giving it a frightening appearance of a demonic knight. Grasped on Gerald's right is a large double-edged great sword that serves more of a weapon for bludgeoning than slicing.

A single bright yellow eye glowed behind the helmet's visor as Gerald lifted its sword once more and took several steps forward.

Jaune took a steady breath and slowly advanced to meet Gerald, feeling the floor rumble underneath his feet. His training shield was firmly held in front of him, and his sword hovering not far behind, ready to counterattack with a thrust.

In a burst of speed, Gerald lunged at Jaune with a fierce undercut swing.

Sliding his left foot back, Jaune swiftly dragged his shield down and pushed on his right foot. Sparks showered the floor as their steel met; the impact sent Jaune back, but the blond boy kept his balance. Jaune felt his arms strain, but not the same numbness he felt when he tried to fully block the Geist's attack.

His opponent remained relentless, charging again with a backswing keep up the momentum.

With a grunt, Jaune shifted his shield further to his left to block Gerald's strike. If he can manage to block the Geist's backswing, then he should be able to end this session with his victory by scoring a single hit against the Geist with a thrust.

Just as Gerald came within striking range, the Geist planted its foot against the ground to stop its charge, gripped its greatsword with both hands, and readjusted its attack to a diagonally slash at Jaune's shield, impeding his thrust.

Out of instinct, Jaune released his shield to avoid the blows shockwave and tried to counter it with a sword thrust. However, Gerald beat him to it with a thrust of its own, stabbing into his armor and sending the boy flying.

"Oof!" Jaune landed on his back, his head striking the stone floor with a crack. "My head…" He groaned. He'll be fine since his aura is still up. "And my arm…"

Salem glanced up from her book, "You dropped your shield to avoid fully absorbing the shock. I'm impressed."

"It was more on reflex." He replied honestly. "I think I got tunneled vision when I thought there was an opening." Jaune picked himself up from the floor and took off his chest plate armor which now had a clean slit. "And I didn't expect Gerald to stop his charge."

"By stopping his charge, you were denied an opportunity to strike as you were out of your attack range?"

Jaune nodded, "Yeah. I… I think so."

Plus, the Geist used a great sword that has a much longer reach than his training sword. He had to get closer to hit anything compared to Gerald.

Salem smiled and got up from her seat, but not before bookmarking her page. "You acknowledge and understand your faults. That goes a long way."

Jaune straightened up and brushed away specks of dust from his shirt. "I wouldn't have gotten this far without you, and Pythia." He turned to look at the Geist, who had already disembarked from its armor. "And Gerald."

"You're too humble." Salem chuckled and waved her hand, magically rearranging the training room. The stacks of weapons were swept up from the ground and lodged back into the wall, along with the hulking armor Gerald was occupying earlier. "I would recommend taking this time to relax. You suffered quite a pasting. But if you so desire, taking your time to recuperate with your aura training is something to take into consideration."

He nodded, "I will do just that."

"Very well." They walked out of the training room, followed by Pythia and Gerald. "I shall be in my quarters. If you wish of something from me, you may see me there."

"Thank you, Salem." He lowered his head respectfully as she left. After a few seconds, he turned to face his Grimm companions. "So… I'm going back to my room to start a quick aura training, wanna come along? Gerald?"

Pythia, the Seer, and Gerald, the Geist.

To think his closest companion would be the Creatures of Grimm instead of people. Well, he was still getting to know Gerald. The Geist doesn't do much outside of floating and staring just like Pythia for the most part.

Gerald replied with a low unnatural growl, not having anything to do outside of terrorizing people like all Grimm minus Pythia.

"Follow me." Jaune motioned along, walking along the corridor to his personal quarters, grandiose and large as ever. "Well, here we are." He pushed the door open to let the Grimm in, though Gerald could probably phase through the walls anyway. "Uh… Make yourself comfortable?"

A clicking noise came from Pythia, who pointed at the gaming console, notifying him of what the seer is planning on doing.

"Have fun, Pythia." He stretched his arms and sat down on a small cushion set atop of a large, soft carpet. He then turned to the Geist. "So… I'm not sure what you normally do in your spare time, but I think you would like to watch video recordings from fighting tournaments?"

According to Salem, Gerald occupied the far southeast part of Mistral filled with mountains. There used to be a minor kingdom or federation of people there who were very tough, but they no longer exist. Ever since then, Gerald had resided there 'asleep' with an occasional awakening due to a bypasser who's foolish enough to go there.

There's even folklore about the ancient Geist! Crash course time!

A ghastly figure would appear near a battlefield taking on the form of discarded armors or deceased bodies. It favors targeting warriors and skilled fighters, but anyone who encountered it would never be heard from them again. To ward off this phantom, one must shine an object of silver to the moon or sun to frighten it away. To think he's sitting near ancient Mistral's equivalent of a boogeyman!

The ancient Geist tilted its head with curiosity before nodding.

"Here, let me get that." Jaune fiddled with the remote and turned on the television, going to the beginning of the playlist. "I'm starting the video player. Pythia, help Gerald if he wants to fast forward or something."

Pythia gave an affirmative click. Guess it'll have to show the older generation how things work now.

Jaune hit play and let Gerald view the footage of previous tournaments, ranging from regionals to the Vytal Festival. The ancient Geist was immediately drawn to the combat footage, silently leaning closer to the screen. Jaune couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Two Grimm in his room. One is a young Grimm playing video games on a holographic screen, while the other is an ancient Grimm watching vintage combat matches like a grandfather watching wrestling. How did things become like this?

Time to begin his impromptu aura training.

Taking a deep breath, Jaune drowned out the sound in the room and mentally reached deep into himself, drawing on his soul. His aura crackled around him, slowly replenishing itself as he drew and smooth his soul. He begins circulating his aura, focusing it on his arms and chest where he was sore from previous engagements. Intensifying, condensing his aura to where his body is battered. Multiplying the effectiveness of his recovery.

Aura strengthens the body and shields it from harm, bearing the burdens of hardship. It heals, albeit slightly, wounds that appear on the body and when one becomes attuned… A semblance will manifest itself from one's aura.

At least, that's what this 'Aura for Dummies' has in its pages. Jaune wasn't great with this kind of stuff, but he managed to achieve decent results. He still can't keep his aura circulating in areas where he wanted to, and sometimes slips up when drawing on his soul, outright depleting his aura instead of replenishing it.

"Whew. I think I'm getting there." Jaune wiped the sweat from his brow and checked his scroll. His aura bar had changed from red to yellow. "Salem said that replenishing aura takes time and that few individuals can quickly replenish a portion of their aura reserve." He hummed, "I wonder if I can learn something from Hazel. His aura always comes back very quickly."

Jaune stretched his arms and put down his scroll. A few more minutes into manipulating his aura, then he'll hit the showers and relax.

/-/

_He has grown exponentially. _Salem thought to herself, feeling like a proud grandmother. _And he even saw value in presenting the ancient Geist footage of previous combat tournament for it to evaluate and adapt. His potential as a warrior and leader is beginning to shine._

Her mind wandered away as she continued to read from her book that Jaune helped buy for her.

"… Silver eyes." Salem frowned, suddenly remembering the report Pythia and Jaune conveyed to her. "Just like her mother. I wonder if she'll follow in her footsteps."

_I wonder what Ozma is scheming now that he's aware of Jaune._

/-/

Ozpin tirelessly read over an obnoxiously long document before signing his signature on it. It was a necessary evil, seeing how they need to upgrade their equipment and receive the much-needed grant from the council.

Just when he felt his mind going numb, his scroll started ringing. The wizard gladfully picked it up and checked to see who the caller is.

Qrow Branwen.

He hit the 'Accept' button. "Hello Qrow."

"Oz. I may have graduated from Beacon, but can you give me a very brief rundown of Grimm interacting with wildlife? Particularly birds in general?"

Ozpin blinked, wondering what kind of question that is. "The Creatures of Grimm do not actively attack wildlife unless provoked. They exclusively attack humans and faunus. May I ask why you are inquiring about this rather basic knowledge?"

"Get this Oz. I've been flying around the forests for hours, getting ignored by Grimm left and right. All was going pretty well. I perched on a branch next to a couple of robins and goldfinch, then bam! A murder of juvenile Nevermore started swooping down and picking them off." He could hear Qrow letting out an exasperated breath on the other end. "So, I took off being pursued by four of them. Then they suddenly stopped and u-turned."

"That is strange." Ozpin leaned in his chair and rubbed his chin. "I take it there's more to the story?"

"Yeah. I did a little bit of experiment around Emerald Forest and found that the Grimm who are farther from the mountains aren't bird eaters."

"Explain."

"The Grimm prowling several miles from the mountains, Oz? They actively hunt down any birds in the vicinity. I'm guessing people too, but I'm not trying that yet. Anyway, the Grimm further out don't give a world's care about a flying bird passing by."

The wizard narrowed his eyes, "They're guarding something."

"Ding, ding." Qrow chirped, "Prize for ya. That's what I was thinking as well."

"What about the other wildlife near the mountains?" Ozpin asked, "Does the Grimm hunt down other animals, let's say a squirrel?"

"That's the weird part. They don't." Qrow paused for a brief second, "Don't go turning me into a squirrel, Oz."

Ozpin snorted but was left pondering about the odd behavior the Creatures of Grimm near the mountainsides. "This is certainly a strange behavior for the Grimm to partake in. What do you make of it?"

"… I think Salem or her 'knight' ordered the Grimm near the mountains to hunt down any birds they could see." He clicked his tongue in irritation. "Even got Beowolves throwing rocks at me."

"That's a troubling development."

"I'll say. Every single bird species and their population will drastically decrease into the endangered status at this rate." Qrow joked, "But seriously, Oz. What should we do? There's a lot of Grimm roaming the place for me to continue on foot and in the air."

There was a moment of hesitation on Ozpin's end. "I heard James planned on taking a sizable portion of Atlas military here, at Vale during the Vytal Festival." Sure, they could contact huntsmen, huntresses, and local defense forces to clear the forest and mountainsides, but it will be an extremely tedious task with many areas to cover. To makes matter worse, they don't know for certain what's out there that the Grimm are guarding. "Their military possesses the technology and manpower to eliminate the Grimm within a respectable amount of time. However, we should see what our options are before we reach that stage."

Qrow grumbled something under his breath. "Jimmy is going to bring his army here anyway. Might as well make use of them." The sound of the huntsman uncapping his flask and downing the content could be heard over the scroll. "Puah… So, what do we do in the meantime?"

"We'll let Oobleck and Port carry out a joint exercise with their students to thin out the Grimm in the forest." Ozpin wrote down the two professor's names on a blank sheet of paper. "I'm sure our Grimm Studies professor would be ecstatic, while Dr. Oobleck would be happy to explore forgotten ruins and scenery."

"What about Ann Greene?" Qrow questioned, "She's in charge of Stealth and Security. Why not her instead of Oobleck?"

"I'd rather her remain on campus along with Glynda and keep an eye out on things."

Qrow let out a sigh, "Alright, alright. Try not to get my nieces killed, Oz."

/-/

"Ice Flower!"

Ruby unfurled her Crescent Rose into its sniper rifle form and slammed the scythe into the floor, rooting her on the spot. In the air, Weiss spun several times before landing beside Ruby, manifesting one of her glyphs around Crescent Rose, empowering the bullets in ice.

Five bullets, five echoing shots.

All of them hitting their mark on a training dummy. Two on the arms, two on the legs, and one on the head. The bullets exploded, partially encasing the dummy in ice.

Pyrrha stopped her stopwatch. "0.42 seconds. A new record." The Mistralian champion smiled widely, "A new record, and nicely done."

"Thank you, Pyrrha," Weiss replied courteously.

Ruby bounced up to the heiress and raised a hand for a hi-five. "Yeah! Hi-five!"

"No."

"Aw…" Ruby deflated.

"… Fine." She reluctantly hi-fived her team leader.

"Yeah! Okay, guys! Are you ready to move onto –"

"Um, it's nearing curfew." Pyrrha showed them her scroll. Sure enough, Glynda Goodwitch along with all staff will be patrolling the campus, making sure the students are at their dorms.

"Hehe. Whoops." Ruby weakly shrugged, "Time really flies by, huh?"

Weiss pinched her forehead, "You dolt. You're lucky we didn't have any assignments due tomorrow, or the day after that."

Their team leader looked down on her feet, "Sorry."

"There, there." Pyrrha chimed in, patting Ruby on the back. "At least we've made some impressive improvements today."

"I'll give her that." Weiss nodded, feeling that Ruby has been putting the proper energy and effort into improving their teamwork and cohesion. "We have gotten well accustomed to each other's fighting style and capabilities."

Ruby puffed out her chest proudly. "Thanks! My Uncle Qrow told me we should improve on our teamwork."

"Your uncle?" Pyrrha recalled the scruffy-looking man with black hair and red eyes. "He's still on campus?"

"I don't know." The crimson reaper glanced around the room as if her uncle would suddenly appear out of nowhere. "Me and Yang were able to talk with him this morning before he went to Ozpin's office. I haven't heard from him since."

"We can continue this later." Weiss interrupted, "We should return to our dorms, least we be berated by our professors for staying past curfew."

"Heh. Didn't think a Schnee would be so bold to be out during curfews." Said a male's voice behind them.

Pyrrha and Weiss nearly jumped out of their skin and sharply turned around. There stood Qrow with a smug grin on his face.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby clamored around her uncle. "Where did you go?! Did Ozpin send you out on a mission again earlier?"

Qrow placed a finger on his niece's lip, silencing her. "Not so loud, Ruby. Glynda will have her riding crop all over us if we woke up the entire campus."

"Sorry."

"I see you took my advice." He gruffly said, ruffling Ruby's hair. "Glad you guys are working together well. Especially with that team move, what was it? Ice Flower? Good shot there."

Ruby happily jumped up and down. Pleased that her uncle is giving her a rare acknowledgment without any negative feedback.

"You were watching us?" Pyrrha asked, not entirely surprised as the huntsman managed to sneak up on them just now.

Qrow nodded, "Ozpin knew you guys were in the training room. He told me to watch over you three and escort you guys back to your dorm once you're done. You didn't really think Glynda would have ignored the sound of gunshots from her office, did you?"

"I… No." Weiss looked like she was about to facepalm at her own inability to think logically. "I thought we were lucky."

"Ha! I'd say you three are. In a sense." Qrow walked around the training room and turned his head slightly at Weiss. "Some of us weren't born lucky."

"Are you implying something?" Weiss haughtily placed a hand on her hip.

"What I'm saying is that you guys were lucky these past few days," Qrow said with a serious expression. "Stopping a robbery in broad daylight, nearly capturing Roman Torchwick, encountered the Everknight twice, and still you three aren't even bruised."

The lighthearted mood instantly died.

"You must have been through a lot," Pyrrha said respectfully.

"More than you think." Qrow scowled, almost reaching for his flask. "It may be all sunshine right now. Especially when you're at Beacon, safe with the professors and staff. But the moment you leave the safety of Beacon, you're on your own." He looks pointedly at Team RWN. "Unless you're with a team."

"But Uncle Qrow." Ruby interrupted, "You always do solo missions. Doesn't that make you the best –"

"That's exactly the reason why it took me three days to recover after my first encounter with the Everknight." Qrow sharply said, startling the girls. "You three were lucky he didn't take you guys seriously, much less had the time to sort you out. When you're out in the field, far from civilization and support. No such luck. Your skills, and talents matter. But guess what? All it takes is a few strings of bad luck and you're done." He sighs deeply and crossed his arms. "What I'm saying is that you can lessen that bad luck. Your teammates, your friends. They'll make things easier for you."

Team RWN stood there in silence. Ruby was even more shocked by how depressed Qrow was sounding. Granted he was always drinking for some reason, but still…

"Is everything okay? Uncle Qrow?" She asked softly.

Qrow gave her a tired smile, "I got chased by a lot of Grimm today." He yawned, "So… I'm beat for the night. Come on, kids. Let's get you back to your dorms."

/-/

"I wonder how much time and effort it takes to creating these combat manuals back then." Jaune thought out loud, reading a modern copy of a medieval combat manual. It had the original illustration copied into the hardcover book depicting a lone knight fending off three Beowolves and two Creeps with a quarterstaff. "Wide swings, but not wildly swinging. Maintain maximum striking distance and awareness."

After a long hot shower, Jaune decided to do some supplementary reading. There were a lot of resources to draw from, ranging from ancient to modern eras. Their usefulness varies, but the underlying principle that would shape warfare and tactics is undeniably helpful.

Pythia peered over his shoulder and whacked him on the head.

"Ow! Okay, fine! I'll change to the next section!" He flipped over a handful of pages to the section where the depiction and details of combat are focus solely against people. The combat manual had two main sections: One centered around combating the Creatures of Grimm, and other in combating other humans and faunus. "Happy now?"

Pythia made a clicking noise and floated towards his digital clock, tapping it twice.

It's 7:33pm or 19:33 in military time.

Jaune got up from his chair, "I need to make myself dinner!" Hastily scurrying out of his room before coming to a screeching halt. "Stay here you guys. I'll be right back with my food."

The Grimm gave their own unique affirmative noise as Jaune closed the door behind him.

Silently, he walked down the corridors with his destination being the kitchen. Aside from Salem, everyone else residing temporarily in her castle still need food and drinks to survive. That's why there's a very large and spacious kitchen within these solid dark walls.

It's almost surreal, walking through these seemingly endless hallways that have always bathed in crimson light. The air is quiet, but there's always an occasional screech or roar coming from outside as Grimm form, arrive, or go. Jaune's thoughts wandered freely, ranging from what color scheme should paint his weapons, to what would this place look like if it was sunny and filled with lush green vegetation.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw a large, muscular figure slightly hunched over, rummaging through the refrigerator.

It's Hazel Rainart.

Jaune cleared his throat softly, catching the man's attention. "Good evening, Mr. Rainart."

"Evening, Jaune." Hazel grunted, "I take it you're here to find something for dinner?"

"Yup. Find anything? There's many vegetables and raw meat in the other fridge."

Hazel rubbed his neck, looking slightly embarrassed. "I am not a decent cook. Normally, one of Dr. Watts android would process my meal."

"Well then, let me cook up something for both of us." The blond boy smiled, and waltz passed Hazel to the third fridge containing the majority of raw food. "Any preference?"

Hazel decided to accept Jaune's offer. He was rather hungry, and the blond boy was said to be a great cook. Even Watts of all people enjoyed Jaune's cooking. "I'd like my meal fairly balanced with vegetables and meat. Pork ribs with green beans, bell peppers, and sweet corn."

"Do you like braised pork ribs mixed with vegetables? Mistralian style?" Jaune asked, taking out the requested food. "Any allergies, by the way?"

"None and that sounds good. I always liked Mistralian styled food." Hazel took a seat at a table and drew his scroll. "You have my thanks."

"You're welcome." Jaune heated up the stove and began to work, pouring olive oil into a wok. "May I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

The sound of chopped onions and olive oil sizzled and crackled in the heat as he stirred it with a wooden spatula.

"How do you quickly regenerate your aura?" He asked as he began adding green beans and bell peppers into the wok. "Salem told me your aura quickly replenishes. I can only instantly recover a certain amount of my aura before having to wait it out."

Hazel put down his scroll, slightly intrigued. He deeply hummed, thinking about his answer. "I believe there are two things that determine the capacity of a person's aura. One is genetics, you were born with how much aura you have. As for the second… If I must say or describe how I can recover my aura. It's sheer willpower."

"Willpower?" Jaune quizzically glanced at Hazel.

"I'd rather not talk about it." He rumbled, though the tone was not directed at Jaune. "Forgive me. It involves the passing of my sister."

"Oh. I understand." The blond boy waved it off and started working on the pork ribs, marinating it with a mixture of cooking sauce, spices, and herbs.

Hazel quietly watched the boy wrap the marinated pork ribs with aluminum foil and placed it in the oven. The large man found Jaune to be a very strange lad. There are times where the blond boy appears to be lost, confused, or simply out of place. Then there are times where he's the exact opposite, like literally befriending the Creatures of Grimm and treating them like they're the most trustworthy allies to grace the world.

He couldn't get a read on the Everknight, and probably won't for the next year or so. Regardless, Hazel will have to admit. Jaune is a pleasant presence compared to anyone in the castle; surprisingly friendly, intelligent, diligent, and possesses many useful skills.

Like cooking.

Minutes passed as Jaune continued to work on the vegetables and other assortments of food for himself before the timer pinged, letting them know that the braised pork ribs are finished. Jaune quickly took the aluminum wrapped meat and gently picked apart the wrap to inspect his work.

The aroma assaulted Hazel's nose, his stomach rumbling louder than his voice. "… That smells good."

Jaune chuckled, "Yeah. It does, doesn't it? Oh, can you help me bring out the cutlery and plates?"

* * *

**Omake:**

"Is that Beringel wearing glasses and a white coat?" Ozpin quizzically looked at the gorilla-like Grimm with an unreadable expression.

Jaune nodded, "This is Dr. Beringel. Doctor Wilson Beringel. He's my therapist."

Ozpin gave the blond boy an incredulous look. "Your… Therapist?"

"Yup."

"…" The ancient wizard turned and stared at his ex-wife. Well, they're still married so Salem is still his wife. "Care to tell me why you have a Grimm as a therapist?"

"Oh? I didn't take you one for being prejudice. For shame, Ozma." Salem mockingly shook her head. "Can't you see? Dr. Beringel is a well-respected member of the scientific community and will be temporarily serving as our marriage counselor for the time being."

Ozpin looked like he was contemplating why he existed just to suffer. "Salem. I want you to hit me."

Salem blinked, "Say that again?"

"I must be dreaming." Ozpin hazily said, "A pinch would not suffice. Hit me, so I can be awakened from this horrid dream."

"If you insist." Salem patted her husband's arms and punched him in the face.

The man was sent spinning several times before he staggered and fell onto a cushioned seat. Ozpin shook his head and clutched his nose. His vision was blurry, but it quickly stabilized within seconds. "I am disappointed that this is not a dream and that your punch didn't kill me."

"Now, why would I kill my dear husband again?" Salem giggled and sat down next to Ozpin. "That was rather satisfying."

The Beringel donning a white coat and glasses made a few gorilla grunts and pointed at the two of them.

Ozpin responded with a confused look. "I'm not quite sure I can understand you."

"Ah." Jaune jumped in, "He said that you two are making huge progression, but still have a long way to go."

"Progression?" Ozpin drily repeated the word. "In what way?"

Dr. Wilson Beringel grunted and made some gestures with its hand.

"He said that for one, you two aren't actively trying to kill each other as you've used too." Jaune translated.

"Probably because we understood that killing each other does solve anything, not to mention we're immortal to a certain extent," Ozpin grumbled, crossing his arm. "I get the hassle of reincarnating into another body, while she gets to regenerate hers."

Salem smirked, "You can blame the God of Light for that."

"I will not play along with your blame game, Salem."

"You know it's true."

Dr. Beringel made a hooting sound, catching their attention. After a brief moment, the Grimm made another series of animistic grunts and growls.

"He said that understanding your significant other position is important in mending relationships, even if they'll never be truly what they once were."

"Hmm… I suppose that is a wise outlook of a possible solution." Ozpin mused.

Salem also nodded, "Indeed."

Jaune was internally cheering. At this rate, Salem and Ozpin can get back together and the world will be a much happier place, or at the very least not wage a large shadow war against each other. He was glad that he recommended his personal therapist for this. Maybe they won't need to find another therapist.

/-/

"Well… That escalated quickly." Jaune monotonously said as he watched Salem and Ozpin go super Saiyan from afar. The therapy room had all its walls demolished along with nearly every object in the room except Dr. Beringel's chair and a spare cushioned seat.

"Oscar is under my custody!"

"Not even in your wildest dreams, woman!"

The two collided, sending large magically shockwaves through the land of darkness.

Jaune sighed and sat down on the remaining spare chair. "I guess I was being too hopeful, huh? Wilson?"

The Beringel shrugged and patted the blond boy on the head.

"Thanks, Wilson. So, what do I do now?"

The answer he received made him sigh even harder: Pray and hope you find another marriage counselor.

* * *

**Pardon our grammar. **

**We're looking forward in writing/storyboarding the next chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter builds up and expands on some things slightly, also setting the stage for the next chapter.**

**Pardon our grammar.**

* * *

Salem silently read her novel, occasionally plopping a piece of chopped braised pork ribs into her mouth. Her Everknight came by hours ago, offering her some of his homemade cooking, which she happily accepted and thanked him for. Granted, the immortal didn't need food or drink but that doesn't mean she lost her taste buds. Turning a page in her book, Salem was about to mentally read the first word on the page when her scroll started ringing.

Although she was slightly annoyed by the sudden interruption of her leisure, Salem picked up her scroll and checked who the caller is. It's from the 'good' doctor, Arthur Watts.

She wiped her mouth clean with a napkin and answers the video call, screen flickering to life revealing a faintly tanned man with dark hair and a mustache. "Hello, Dr. Watts." Salem greeted the doctor. "Do you have something to report?"

"Not quite, ma'am. My apologies for calling you this late in the day." Dr. Watts meekly replied before composing himself. "I am calling to ask for assistance on a little operation I happen to be working upon at Mantle. It involves an abandoned mining facility that was shut down after an explosive accident. A notable incident for the Schnee Dust Company," He couldn't help but add that last sentence in. "if I must say."

"What is this operation you are planning?"

"Several of my projects and operations require a substantial amount of Dusts." Dr. Watts glance over at another scroll. "I'm afraid I am nearly running slow on Dust after several import laws were imposed by Atlas Council. Even my regular contacts are having difficulties answering my supplies."

"If Dust is what you require, why not ask Cinder for some amount?" Salem can see the obvious hatred between the two. If they had it their way, they would have killed each other a long time ago. Regardless, their bickering will cease if she steps in. "I know she has much to spare."

Annoyance flickers in Dr. Watts's eyes upon mentioning Cinder. "While Cinder may be 'willing' to supply me by your command, I'd rather spare all of us the inconveniences down the line." By inconveniences, he means Cinder will be bitching about how much of a debt he owes her. "Besides, the recent import laws are heavily enforced, especially in Mantle."

No doubt, these new import laws are causing a fuss among the Mantle citizenry. Something that Dr. Watts plans to be utilizing in his further plans.

Salem rested her head on her hand, "Very well, I will order the Grimm residing within the mines to stand down for you to acquire what you need."

"You have my thanks, ma'am." Dr. Watts bowed, "But I'm afraid that's not all to it. If you don't mind me sparing the details."

"Explain."

"The amount of Dust I wish to acquire requires a significant amount of manpower to mine and transport. My assets are barely sufficient without expending a substantial amount of our resources."

The Queen of Grimm understands what Dr. Watts wants. "To use the Grimm as a labor force for this operation?"

"They are being utilized in the mountains of Vale." Dr. Watts politely pointed out. "I believe they can be employed similarly, with some… Delicate assistance of course. I understand that the Grimm will not easily obey what I say, nor perform their role well without in-person supervision."

"You wish for my Everknight, my emissary, to assist you in your endeavor?"

Dr. Watts swallowed, understanding that one of Salem's most valuable assets at risk with this request. "If that is allowed, your grace. There will be careful measures I shall be implementing to ensure his safety. While he is here with me, I will also be utilizing our acquired resources to return the favor. For example, armor and weapons that he wishes to procure using Atlas's state of the art technology."

"Hmmm…" Salem pondered on the matter before fixing the doctor with a cool gaze. "When do you plan on carrying out your operation?"

"In four days, ma'am."

"I will begin making arrangements for his departure to Atlas, then."

Dr. Watts bowed deeply, "Thank you very much, ma'am."

"Anything else?" Salem asked as she made a series of notes on a blank sheet of paper with her dark magic.

"None at the moment. Have a good day, your grace."

/-/

In the Land of Darkness, it's impossible to tell if it is day or night time, considering how the moon is constantly hovering over the crimson and purple lands. Jaune can never tell what time it is, outside of his digital clock, and scroll. He once mistakenly slept through three fourth of the day and thought it was morning when he woke up. If his clock is correct and the lunch he had a few minutes ago, it's currently in the afternoon.

Jaune stood on the barren grounds outside Salem's castle, fiddling with the magic glove that Salem granted him when he first arrived here. More like, trying to practice using the 'Grimm Portals' which lets him summon and store Grimm in another dimension or something. Not sure how that works, but Cinder had one with a beetle-like Grimm on hers.

He wonders what happened to the beetle Grimm he nicknamed Cole.

"Okay, let's do this again. Step one." Jaune raised a hand that blazed and shimmer faintly as a white glove begun to materialize, encompassing his hand. "Step two… Make portals." Salem's emblem on his glove glowed brightly. The air around him ripples with a vortex of dark maroon. "Step three. Summon Grimm."

Two beowolves tore through the vortex, landing on the ground on all fours with a dull thud. Their eyes glowing brightly as they surveyed their surroundings before giving Jaune a backward glance. He nods at them that they are free to go and thanked them for their help. The beowolves emitted a low growl and lumbered away through the Land of Darkness, following their instincts to travel towards distant lands.

"And for my last act." He turned his left arm front and back, "Making my magic glove disappear." One arm outreached, Jaune concentrated on his final act. "… Any moment now." His glove shimmered briefly but didn't disappear. "Any second now…"

Pythia floated down in front of his face, twisting its body around gently. It's the Seer's version of shaking its head.

"Oh, hush. Like you could do any better. You don't even have hands." He lifted up a finger before Pythia could retort. "Your tentacles don't count."

A sharp hiss escaped from Pythia as the Seer circled around him.

Jaune scratched his head, "What was the tip she gave me about controlling this? Err, ah! Imagination." He paused for a moment, "Feel or imagine that the glove is disappearing."

He redoubled his effort and watched as his glove started to burn away, returning to wherever it is inside of him. Or something. Honestly, he doesn't know where the glove goes when he makes it disappear. It's a part of him now, maybe.

"I see you've improved on your handling of the glove I provided to you."

Jaune whirled around and saw Salem observing him on the balconies. "Thanks. I wouldn't have gotten far without your help. Especially with this." He raised his hand only to remember that he already made the glove disappear. "Uhh. I forgot I put the glove away just now…"

"Growth is influenced by many factors, but most importantly; it is greatly affected by oneself." Salem chuckled as she motioned him to follow her. "I must apologize, Jaune. Dr. Watts contacted me yesterday with an urgent request." The blond boy blinked twice, surprised that he's already been deployed. "Our previous arrangement here will need to be put on hold. However, Dr. Watts promises to assist you in constructing your armor and weapons with Atlas's finest technology as payment for your assistance."

"That's alright and nice of him to do so." Jaune nodded, climbing up the stairs. "It's been a while since I visited Atlas and Mantle. So, when will I be going?"

"You will be leaving tonight once Dr. Watts's airship arrives with the coordinates." Pythia curled its tentacles and fell into Jaune's hand, letting him carry it through the hallways to the meeting room. Once they entered, the massive door closed behind him and Salem handed a scroll containing a small document. "This is a mapping of the abandoned mining facility Dr. Watts will be staging his operation. He requires Dust. With his current resources and newly imposed restriction by Atlas council, he requires a sizeable labor force to handle the workflow."

Jaune skimmed through the file, "I guess the Grimm make good manual workers."

"Surprisingly so when they are being supervised." There were times where it felt like Salem was herding a bunch of impaired cats. The Creatures of Grimm are hardly capable of doing slightly complex tasks without someone acting as their overseer. "They will not be able to carry out the tasks Dr. Watts expects them to do without your direction."

"I feel that this is much more dangerous than what I normally go through…"

"It is." Salem said bluntly, "Having Grimm who are mostly incapable of understanding the dangers of improperly handling Dust is a recipe for disaster." She nearly laughed at Jaune's perplexed expression. "Fear not, Jaune. Dr. Watts and I have taken measures to ensure your safety. With you and your Seer around, the Grimm will be competent enough in their task."

"That's a relief." Jaune transferred the layout and document into his scroll before handing it back to Salem. "Should I be preparing anything before I go?"

"The standard as your previous visit to the Kingdom of Atlas with some additional gear and baggage before your departure." She silently called Gerald, the Geist, into the room, who phased through the ceiling to join them. "There will be several Grimm I will be including in your contingent, along with the Geist whom you call Gerald."

He waved at the Geist, "Hey Gerald. Nice to see you tagging along." The Geist waved back, making a raspy hiss for a greeting. "So, what other Grimm will be joining me?"

"A rather small amount. These Grimm are all familiar with navigating and creating an underground passage to simplify your workload." Salem made a face, "Unfortunately, you will need to collect them once Dr. Watts airship arrives. The coordinates will lead you to their locations."

Jaune straightens up, "Understood, ma'am."

"Good. That's all that I have for now." Salem placed a hand on his shoulder, "I would recommend taking the day to enjoy your leisure. The trip will be lengthy."

"I'll do just that." Jaune paused, "By the way, how's the braised pork ribs I made last night?"

Salem smiled, "It was delicious, thank you. It went very well with red wine."

/-/

Far out away from Beacon, surrounded by dense forest is an assembly of Beacon students in their full combat attire and weapons. This assembly is a combination of Professor Port's and Doctor Oobleck's afternoon class tasked with cleaning out the forest of Grimm. According to rumors, the Creatures of Grimm have been acting strange lately near the mountains, attacking the wildlife which they normally ignored.

Standing near the edge of the group is Team RNBY, comprised of Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. Besides them is their 'sister' team, Team RWN: Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Pyrrha Nikos.

"Nooo… I can still hear their screeching from here." Yang clutched her skull, looking like she was about to get a stroke. "Their combine voices are making things twice as worse!"

"At least you don't have sensitive hearing like mines." Blake hissed, having to subtly clamp down on her hidden cat ears underneath her bow to barely drown out their professors' voice.

Both teams had to get away from the constant and loud chattering that stems mostly from Port and Oobleck. Even with a large number of hormonal teenagers wielding destructive powers gathered around, the two professors - one is actually a Doctor of History - are both the loudest and motormouth out of everyone here.

Some of them even think that the reason not many Grimm are heading towards the obviously loud group is that they were scared off by Port's 'bombastic' and boring storytelling, along with Oobleck's rapid speech that sounds more like a machinegun going ham.

"They do need to get their voice across all of us." Weiss defended, wincing every few seconds at the volume Port was going at. Without a megaphone to boot! "But I will admit, there must be a better alternative than this."

"Now!" Oobleck's voice sheared through the air, "Everyone clear on the procedures?"

The entire student assembly all gave their affirmative answers, not wanting for their professors to repeat it again. By then, they all would be deaf.

"Excellent! Now then, all teams form up! We'll begin assigning each team into one of the four detachment!"

"These four detachments will be called Red, Green, Yellow, and Blue Company!" Port boomed with merriment. Not only does the professor teaches Grimm studies, but he also teaches Military Strategy. "Once you're assigned into the company, await further instruction!"

"Do not move ahead without permission!" Oobleck shouted over him, "The area ahead of us is very dangerous!"

They began calling out teams and sorting them into one of the four companies. Each company would be under one of the professor's oversight. Red and Yellow Company falls under professor Port, which is fitting considering his suit is red and yellow. Green and Blue Company is under Dr. Oobleck's command in conjunction with his green hair and blue eyes. It would seem that the professors meticulously had the four primary colors to their style.

"I'm excited! Are you excited, Ren?" Nora bounced around her teammates, "We're going to break every single Grimm's leg in this forest! What do you think we'll encounter out there? More Ursai? Deathstalkers?"

"Not sure." Ren appeared to be in deep thoughts. "Has everyone wonder how much this joint exercise came out of nowhere?"

Team RWN gave each other knowing glances but didn't say anything. There's obviously a connection to this sudden 'joint exercise' and the Everknight's influence on the Creatures of Grimm, or something along those lines. Why else would the headmaster of Beacon Academy, along with the general of Atlas Military – who is also the headmaster of Atlas Academy – conducting investigations into the mysterious person known as the Everknight?

"It's been on my thought." Blake nodded, also finding it odd that the professors suddenly put a halt to their regular teaching schedule. Even the history quiz that was to start tomorrow was canceled due to this joint exercise. "Our regular class assignments were given a pass as well. I feel that there's something more to this test."

"It is strange, but I'm so glad we don't have to turn in our assignments. No more quizzes as well!" Yang cracked her knuckles, eager to get moving and punch some Grimm. "Besides, professor Port said our assignments and quiz grades for this week will be replaced with grades based on our performance in this joint exercise."

"The more Grimm we make bye-bye, the more A's we get!"

"Heck yeah!" Yang and Nora's fist bump each other before throwing their hands up, cheering their team name. "Goooo Team RNBY!"

Ruby pulled her red hood over her head, "Yang, you're embarrassing me."

"Why, Ruby. We weren't talking about you." Yang teased, playfully poking at her sister's stomach, and started singing. "You're so vain. You probably think we're talking about you."

"Quit it!" Ruby yelped, swatting Yang's hand aside.

"When have you become this rebellious?" Yang mockingly gasped. "Have you strayed too far from me?"

"I think you're a terrible influence on her." Weiss flatly commented, huffing when Yang ignored her remarks. "Would it kill you to restrain yourself from acting this childish?"

"Would it melt you to be a little bit warmer?" Yang shot back with a wide grin.

Pyrrha cheerfully defended her teammate, understanding that a positive mood helps out in a forest full of Grimm. "She's been very nice lately."

"I have conflicting feelings about that statement."

"Team RWN!" Professor Port called out.

Team RWN raised their hands. "Here!"

"You're in Red Company!" The portly man pointed at a metal pole sticking from the ground, adorned with a plain red banner. "Head on over!"

"Wish us luck." Ruby waved at Team RNBY and hastily made her way to Red Company's spot with her teammates.

"Team RNBY!"

"Here!"

"Green Company!"

They watched as Team RNBY had to reel in Nora to prevent her from accidentally bulldozing over everyone on Green Company out of her hyperactive excitement due to too many maple syrups. Team RWN silently listens as the professors continue to assign the teams to a company.

Pyrrha glance over at Weiss and gently tapped her on the shoulder. "Is something wrong?" She asked. The heiress had a distant look on her face, which isn't something they see every day considering how attentive Weiss is. "Are you not feeling well?"

"No, it's not that," Weiss whispered, letting her teammates huddle. "I can't shake this feeling… Something I can't really explain. I feel uneasy being out here."

She normally doesn't let her feeling known, having been drilled that a Schnee must not show distress or unsightly emotions publicly. However, with these recent events and revelation that the Creatures of Grimm can apparently be controlled by a person, she really can't help it. In fact, this particular matter of Grimm having enough intelligence to reason with or control was secretly discussed - mainly instigated by Ruby - among her teammates; all of whom were also baffled and confused as her.

"I'm feeling a bit uneasy as well," Pyrrha admits, glancing at the treetops and then to the clear blue skies.

Ruby quietly nodded, "Same…"

Grimm and humans working together? Heck, they even saw the Everknight use one as a weapon! It didn't hit them on just how bizarre it was until they sat down and thought about it. There was definitely more to this that Ozpin, Ironwood, Glynda, and Winter weren't letting on. Something very big.

It didn't help that Winter bluntly stated that the matter was classified. Granted, even her favorite color is classified, but seeing how multiple important figures are involved made their mind spin some theories, though Weiss tries hard not to delve into 'conspiracy theories'. Most of these came from Ruby, but it ranged from a science experiment gone wrong to a Grimm cult that managed to find a way to control or work Grimm.

The last one sent a shiver down their spines. There were recorded incidents and documents of Grimm cults popping up throughout history, but those were few and didn't last very long. As it turns out, being crazy doesn't grant one immunity from getting ripped apart by Grimm.

Until now if that's the case.

Could the odd behavior the Creatures of Grimm have been displaying, should those rumors be true, caused by the Everknight? Many questions are unanswered.

"We're about to move out! Will someone volunteer to take hold of the banner?" Port's loud voice shook them out of their thoughts. All teams were assigned a company and were ready to move out.

"Well, Weiss." Ruby faced the heiress with a bright smile, "We're here together as a team, along with everyone. No monsters will beat us when we're together!"

Pyrrha unholstered her shield behind her back. "She's right. There are many of us along, including the professors. I can't imagine we'll be facing anything dangerous should we all stick together."

"I suppose you're right. Let's keep our thoughts clear and remain vigilant."

"Red Company, moving out!" Port shouted, "Hoho! This will be fun! I always dreamed of commanding a company of cadets! Why this reminded me of the time where I…"

Everyone in Port's company groaned as the professor started rambling about nonsensical stories from his youth.

/-/

"Maybe I'm packing too much winter clothing." Jaune rubbed his chin, looking at his luggage that is most likely going to explode. "Too many coats, undershirts, and sweaters."

Pythia shrugged with two of its tentacles, not having to worry about the cold since it can generate its own heat. The Grimm up in the north have quickly adapted with Salem's meddling to the cold environment, becoming burlier and resilient to the cold. Most Grimm outside of that region won't survive in the continent of Solitas, outright turning into Grimmsicles in the harsh cold weather.

Jaune glanced at Gerald who was hovering over his shoulder as the blond boy toss out a few sweaters onto the bed. "Gerald. You will be alright in the cold, right?"

The ancient Geist nodded, having survived through sudden and harsh cold snaps throughout the eras long before Mistral even existed.

"Clothes, food and drink provisions for the trip, some safety gear, some backup weapons. What else will we be needing?" Gerald tapped on Jaune's shoulder and pointed at the large armor standing out in the hallways. It was set there by Salem who said that the armor was starting to gather dust and space. "Oh yeah, your armor and weapons are coming along with us."

He stepped out into the hallway and inspect the extra baggage they'll be bringing onto the airship. "… Will these fit on the airship?"

Gerald merely shrugged.

"Eh, I'm sure they will. Hey, Pythia. How are the Grimm at Vale doing? Are they moving out like I asked them to?"

/-/

Sitting crossed-legged on a soft couch in a high-end hotel in Mistral is Cinder Fall, talking on her scroll with her business associate, Roman Torchwick. Laying idly on two king sizes beds are Emerald and Mercury, waiting for their mistress to be done with her call.

"I don't appreciate you troubling the Everknight, Roman." She said his name with a very sharp tone. "He has better things to do than concern himself with our operations in Vale."

"Whoa! Hey, wait! I didn't ask for his help! I didn't even know he was in the area! Neo had me covered, but the Everknight bailed me out and told me he'll handle it."

Cinder scowls, "Is that so?"

"Yes! Just ask him!"

"I'll take your word for it," She relaxes her posture, uncross and crossing her legs. "and ask him another time. No point in pestering him with this trivial matter. What's the progress?"

"I'm starting to run out of warehouses to safely store all the Dust I'm bringing in." Sounding proud of himself. "The report is being sent. Take a look."

The report arrives on Cinder's scroll with a ping. She skims through the report and photographs of Roman's stolen Dust and smiles.

"Wonderful," Cinder purrs, "it looks like we'll be ahead of schedule at this rate. Keep up the good work, Roman. I'll see you soon when the time comes."

The false Fall Maiden estimates that within half a week, they'll be able to continue to the next phase of their plans. Mountain Glenn. She'll have to notify Adam to prepare his soldiers before they relocate their supplies to Mountain Glenn. Once they've arrived, they can begin constructing bombs with the Dust they stole.

"I'm sure I'll be looking forward to it…" Roman sigh and ended the call.

A brief silence follows as Emerald and Mercury watch their mistress go over the report. They glance at each other, silently gesturing with their hands and making telling facial expressions about something. Whatever it was, Cinder was starting to get annoyed by their antics.

"Do you two have something to say to me?"

"Oh. Uh…" Emerald shot Mercury a look, who returned it in kind. She in turn shot him an even fiercer look.

Cinder snaps her fingers, warning them to stop playing around before she'll make them regret it.

Mercury sits up from his bed, "We were wondering when we'll be mingling in with the students at Haven Academy."

"The moment Leonardo finalizes our student profile." Cinder responds with disinterest. "He was supposed to have it complete this week, but there were other tasks Salem had him prioritize. We will wait here in the meantime."

"Got it."

"Yes, ma'am."

Cinder enjoys the silence as she scrolls read the conclusion of the report, eyes fluttering with surprise at how much Dust Roman has amassed. Of course, this wouldn't all have been possible without Jaune assisting them in distracting Ozpin's pawns.

"Hmmm. I should thank Jaune for helping us with our plans. We're ahead of schedule if these numbers are correct."

Mercury's eyebrow shot up, "Really? We went over our goal?"

"Already?"

Cinder smirks, "Yes. We have. I'll let Roman perform a few more heist before we introduce him to the next phase."

Whatever Jaune did, it has to do with the Creatures of Grimm that's causing the council and law enforcement anxiety. At least, according to Dr. Watts's information network. They're more focused on culling the number of Grimm around Vale's borders than worry about Roman's robbery that's covered by insurance.

"So, what did he do to speed things up?" Mercury asks.

"Why, he has Vale's attention on their borders." Cinder lips curl upward. Occasions like this deserve a celebration, pulling out a bottle of wine from the drawer and a wine glass. "With the Grimm becoming more restless and organized, Vale has dedicated a good portion of their attention to their defenses, leaving Roman free to continue with his tasks."

Emerald and Mercury gulped at that, wondering what kind of person the Everknight is; commanding an army of Grimm and forcing an entire kingdom to make a difficult decision that'll have a huge impact either way.

"O-organized?"

"Of course." Cinder pours herself a drink, "Even Salem praises him for being a brilliant tactician."

* * *

**Omake:**

"So, you two are the inspiration behind Salem's bestselling novel, Grimm Love?" Blake eyed Jaune and his personal Grimm Seer, Pythia. She already likes what she sees, circling around them like a predator. "Yes, yes. It's almost like the novel! Only, the protagonist is more assertive."

Two things went through Jaune's mine. To back away from this crazy looking cat Faunus girl name Blake Belladonna, and to clean out his ear and say this follow sentence. "I'm sorry. What's this about me, Pythia, and a bestselling novel that's written by my employer?"

"Grimm Love is about a blond boy and his humanoid Grimm lover." Blake briefly explained, tugging at his shirt, and rumpling his hair. "Mhm. Yes, this will work nicely." She then inspects Pythia, feeling her tentacles. "You have a great material to work with, Salem."

"Why, thank you." Salem smiled, typing away on her typewriter. "It took time, but my patience paid off in the end."

Blake's ears flickered up and down excitedly, "I can think of several new plots to add into the next book." She flitted across the room and started writing something down on a sheet of paper. "For chapter six, when…"

Pythia and Jaune looked at each other. "Ummm. I'm lost here."

"It's quite simple, Jaune." Salem coolly explained. "We just so happen to be running low on funds, so I turned my hobby into profitable work."

"Okay…?"

"Where should we place the tentacle scene?" Blake asked, causing Jaune to choke in his own salvia.

"I-I'm… Wha-a-at?!" He would have fallen over if it weren't for Pythia quickly wrapping her tentacles around him to prevent him from hitting the floor. "Thanks."

"Yes! That right there!" Blake pointed a pen at them. "That's a great start! The scene then escalates to Delphi slowly undressing him…"

Salem hummed in agreement, "That is a great start. Let's put that in our static storyboard."

Jaune and Pythia stepped back, feeling that they stumbled into something they shouldn't have. What on Remnant are Blake and Salem talking about?! No, they don't want to know. They really didn't want to know. Maybe it's all a misunderstanding and they're hearing things wrongly. Perhaps it's an action novel and nothing like filth!

"Messenger!" Jaune faintly heard someone sharply whispering at him. "Messenger! Over here!"

Jaune turned his head and saw Tyrian peeking his head out from the door. "Tyrian?"

"Run away!" The scorpion faunus, who is an intelligent, but also completely crazy serial killer, looked very scared. "Run! The Goddess has gone mad, and her new follower is crazy! Flee before...!" Tyrian's eyes widen and he quickly ducks away, already running down the long corridors. "I flee! Forgive meeee!"

Now Jaune and Pythia are terrified. If Tyrian of all people is calling Salem and Blake insane, then that means they're a thousand times crazier than the serial killer! They turned to run but felt Blake grabbing their limbs.

"Where are you two going?" Blake asked, breathing very heavily. "We haven't even gotten to the good part yet." She dragged them deeper into hell. "There are over fifty chapters to work on and we need reference materials."

"N-no! Let us go!" Jaune and Pythia struggled with all their might, but Blake proved to be immovable. "Help! Somebody!"

"Yesss. Struggle like that." The cat faunus face was slightly flushed with slight blood trickling down her nose.

"A heart-pumping struggle as his lover pushes him down on the bed." Salem nodded, typing furiously on the typewriter. "Embracing him tightly with her tentacles as she gently pulls at his clothes…"

Jaune and Pythia's terrifying screams echoed throughout Remnant, even reaching the Gods of Darkness and Light many light years away from the planet. This prompt an ancient question: Do you think the Gods stay in heaven because they too live in fear of what they've created?

* * *

**Pardon our grammar.**

**Not sure how I feel about this omake, but she had fun drafting this. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for your feedback/reviews! **

**We understand that this chapter is weaker than the others. **

* * *

**This chapter feels like it's been rushed, which the co-author and I agreed. Sorry about that drop in quality! The second stage of Summer courses are starting, so we're getting busy.**

**Updates for all my stories will be delayed or on hold.**

**EDIT: Made some minor adjustments.**

**EDIT: Fixed a misspelled word.**

**EDIT: Revert some areas to past tense. Why did I made it present tense?**

**EDIT: Fixed some sentences**

* * *

**Pardon our grammar! **

**Please point out any misspelling or mistakes so that we can correct it! Applies for all previous chapters and so forth! ****Working on present and past tense.**

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

Dr. Arthur Watts stood within the shadow of his umbrella, shielding him from the rain that plagues Mantle every so often. The heat generator that keeps Mantle warm is vast and powerful enough to turn heavy snow into rain. It's an annoyance, but at least the rain is lukewarm thanks to the heat generators.

The doctor checks his watch before shifting his eyes up to the sky. A notable high pitch whining announces the arrival of Salem's emissary: Jaune Arc, the Everknight.

The airship slowly descends upon the landing pad, softly landing as the ship's engine noise quiets. The large metal doors open, revealing a blond young man with bright blue eyes. He was dressed in a black and white jacket laced with yellow accent, paired with blue jeans and black boots. Two Grimm accompany him, a unique Seer whom the boy affectionally named Pythia and a rather gruff and tough-looking Geist with a large gash across its mask.

'_Another interesting specimen. Quite old and judging by its looks.' _Dr. Watts eyed the Geist with great interest, seeing how it quickly inhabit a large suit of armor and lumber off the airship like an actual medieval knight. He archived those thoughts away and greeted Salem's emissary with respect.

"Everknight. I must apologize for burdening you with this task." Dr. Watts put a hand over his chest and bows slightly. "Please be assured, the results will greatly help her grace in the upcoming years. Your effort, my work, it will not be wasted."

"Dr. Watts." Jaune nodded at the 'good' doctor, "Don't worry about getting me involved." That bit is somewhat of a lie. He rather not be involved with some of the evil dealings Salem's lieutenants get into. "I'm here to help after all." Well, he's mostly here to help Salem overall.

Jaune unfurled his umbrella and signals the airship's android to start moving his luggage. Four bulky android attendant shuffles back into the airship to retrieve his luggage, carrying them with haste and care towards the waiting van that Dr. Watts arrived in.

"Of course." The doctor moved out of the way for his androids to continue their work. "I believe you are aware of our plans?"

Jaune nodded, "It's in my scroll. I went over it during my flight."

"Excellent, now then. Let's not linger in the rain." He opened the van door for the Everknight to enter, "Our preparations are in its final stages, Everknight. Once it's completed, I will send you the coordinates and provide transportation to the abandoned mining facility."

"Understood."

Their driver is another android. One that he hasn't seen before, meaning it's most likely a new model. It wordlessly shifts gear and begins driving.

"Salem has provided me your weapon commission." The doctor received the document via scroll and was already set on working on it, utilizing stolen Atlas's machinery to construct the Everknight's weapon. "It will not be long before your weapon is finished. However, I'm afraid you cannot rush fine craftsmanship even with Atlas' finest technology. You will unlikely receive them until a few days from now."

"That's understandable." He smiled, understanding how much work Dr. Watts has put into all of this. "I brought spare weapons with me, should I need them."

"Let's hope you won't have need in using them."

Their conversation went silent for a good minute as they drive through the trodden down street of Mantle. Jaune glance out of the window watching citizens, homes, and stores pass by. He can't explain it, but there's something about Mantle that makes it depressing. Granted, it has always been in a sad state ever since the Great War ended; it's just that the mood around Mantle has gotten heavier. He doesn't even need Pythia or Gerald to tell him that the mood around here has become much worse.

"Mantle seems… Much more dispirited today."

"Indeed. Atlas has imposed several new laws causing major inconveniences for Mantle." Dr. Watts readjusted his coat, hiding his grin behind his mustache. "The people here are becoming more restless and disgruntle."

It's been roughly a month or so since Jaune visited Mantle and the former capital city has already become more discontented than never before.

"Robyn Hill must have been making an uproar over this." Gathering information like culture, politics, and beliefs is something Salem taught him when he visits a particular area. It has proven to be extremely useful and provides a broader understanding and outlook of himself and the world around him.

For Mantle, Robyn Hill is a notable figure in its political and social field, advocating for better conditions for the people of Mantle.

Dr. Watts nodded, "Quite so. The worse she has resorted to is thievery; stealing Dust shipment and building materials to 'return' what was taken from Mantle." He takes out his scroll and swiped a few times on the screen. "Unfortunately for her, there are other groups that want to take a more drastic measure."

"Drastic measures?"

"An underground resistance movement. A violent uprising." The doctor snapped his scroll shut with a smile, "An insurgency."

/-/

Nested in a settlement of Mistral is a criminal syndicate known as the Spiders; said to always deliver the requested information for the right price. How far their influences go is unknown, but their information network is undeniably accurate. To Qrow, this might be just the place to figure out who this enigmatic Everknight person is.

The gruff huntsman casually waltzes into the bar that serves as a hangout for the criminal syndicate. Purple wearing thugs were everywhere, sitting about and drinking like normal patrons. Several of them glance at him before returning to their leisure, but Qrow knows better than to think they're letting their guards down. These kinds of folks are constantly on guard, ready to get the jump on him should things go south.

Far off in a corner sat a plump, blond lady dressed in purple with makeup. By her side are two goons, one male, the other female. Should his own intel be correct, the plump lady is Lil' Miss Malachite, leader of the Spiders.

Qrow slowly makes his way towards her table, stopping when Lil' Miss Malachite's bodyguards block his path.

"That's far enough." Lil' Miss Malachite pushed her desert aside and rest her hands on the table.

Qrow ignores all the stares directed at him, holding his gaze. "Heard you have the best information network in Mistral. Lil' Miss Malachite, was it?"

The plump lady smirked, "I think you already know the answer." She unfurled her fan and fans herself, "Why should I help you?"

"I think this bag of lien speaks louder than me." He tossed her a small bag full of lien onto the table.

She eyed the bag's content. "Okay." Her two bodyguards step back for Qrow to take a seat. "What do you want for it?"

"I need information on somebody known as the Everknight. Have you heard of him before?" Lil' Miss Malachite ceased fanning, her smug expression instantly became vigilant. Her two bodyguards shared a look of agitation, their body tensing upon the mentioning of the Everknight. Qrow leaned back in his seat, curious and tired. "Seems like you met him."

"Why are you looking for him?"

"I thought you don't delve into your client's business?"

Lil' Miss Malachite fold up her fan. "Normally, I don't."

"Why the exception?"

She points her fan towards three nasty gash marks on the wall, "Tell me, huntsman. What do you think made those claw marks on my wall?"

Qrow slowly glanced over to the wall she was pointing at, tracing the marks with his eye. They were large gashes, familiar ones that he encountered many times on the field. His Grimm studies lessons and flashcards mentally resurface and immediately did he identified what made those marks.

"A Beowolf. An alpha Beowolf."

"And how did it get in here?" Lil' Miss Malachite asked, fixing him a serious stare.

"Don't tell me he brought his pet Grimm unnoticed all the way here?"

She snorted, "Nobody is that blind."

Several things ran through Qrow's mind, none of them are good implications, some are far-reaching; none he can assume without making a fool of himself.

Qrow taps on the small bag of lien he tossed earlier, "This is yours if you tell me."

Lil' Miss Malachite leaned closer towards him, "Red portals." She said softly, "The Grimm drop out from a red portal." The huntsman sat there in silence as Lil' Miss Malachite collected her earnings. "That's all I have. I suggest you leave."

Qrow pushed himself up from his seat and steadily walk towards the exit.

Red portals.

The Grimm were summoned from red portals. Who else can use portals that are colored red? Probably many others. If it's a semblance, there's bound to be some overlapping or similarity even though each person's semblance is unique in its own way. If it's something else… That's beyond Qrow's knowledge. However, there is one person he personally knows that can utilize red portals.

The only person he can think of right now.

His own twin sister.

Raven.

Knowing his sister, she will do everything she can to not be involved with Ozpin and Salem's secret war, which means that it's unlikely she'll be working alongside with Salem. Unless she's somehow being threatened or bribe.

"Damn it, Rae. I really hope you're not in on this."

If she has nothing to do with it, well… Raven is also a useful intelligence gatherer like he is. One that won't mind completely breaking the laws to get or find what she wants. Understanding both sides of this secret conflict is in Raven's best interest just so she could avoid it. Should things work out, he may have another set of ears and eyes out on the field.

/-/

This is Carlos, the Centinel. In fact, all Centinels here are nicknamed Carlos by Jaune because that's the best he could think of when all of them looked the same. Anyway, Carlos is a centipede-like Grimm that inhabits the icy regions of Solitas, typically found in cold caves, tunneled within the rocky or icy sediments. They spend most of their days behind the walls and ground, doing absolutely nothing until something, mostly faunus or human, comes along to which they will try to kill it.

Now, they're working as miners, for the time being, burrowing into the solid walls in search of Dust to drop into the metal carts laced with orange powders that act as a stabilizing component. You know so that the Dust doesn't explode at the slightest jolt?

"What is that orange powder?" Jaune asked himself for the fifth time, having never encountered this 'stabilizing component' or even heard of it. "Did Dr. Watts make this?"

A sound of clicking came from Pythia, clearly irritated by Jaune's constant questions that don't seem to be directed at anyone. Humans are truly strange creatures.

"I'm just curious, Pythia. No need to be annoyed about it." Though curiosity does kill the cat, is the old saying. "This is easier than I expected."

Aside from a few snarls of complaint from the Creatures of Grimm, they all are doing their jobs without getting themselves blown up, so far. The Centinels were the main workforce in this mining operations, supported by Gerald, the Geist, and another Geist native to this part of the region. Also, a Deathstalker he picked up that's resistant to the cold, acting as the heavy lifter.

The Geists' ability to phase through walls is invaluable in locating Dust quickly, while the Deathstalker uses its massive pincers and legs to tunnel through the frozen walls to make it more accessible. Overall, the operation has been smooth, and dare he say it… Boring.

"You know, I might have just jinxed it."

He watched a couple of androids scanning the content of one of the metal carts and deemed it full. Its visor flickered and begins pushing the cart back to their transport for containment.

A large rumbling sound came from the west side of the cavern. The Deathstalker whom he nicknamed Crystal because it has sheen blue ice crystals on its carapace, has started digging through the cavern. Gerald and the other Geist he nicknamed Floyd glided out from the walls, having finish locating another large batch of Dust.

"Good find and harvest, huh you guys?" The Grimm all silently stare back at him. He's really starting to miss human and faunus company. "Right. Anyway, at this rate. We'll be able to mine all the Dusts this mine has to offer."

No opposition. Every Grimm nearby put to work. Feeling like a tyrannical overseer. Yup, this is the life and career of Jaune Arc from here on out. Speaking of a future, where does he really go from here? The blondie ponders at that for a brief second. No use trying to foresee the future.

"Guess I'll take a tour of the new tunnel Crystal just created." On cue, his scroll started ringing. The caller is none other than Dr. Watts. He answered the call. "Dr. Watts?"

"Everknight, we may have a problem. I'm afraid nearby Atlas Military outposts had detected abnormal seismic readings from our little operations. It seems like they had their eyes on this place for quite a while. As we speak, they've already dispatched several recon task forces to investigate."

Yeah, Jaune really did jinxed their luck. "How should we handle this?"

"If you can, continue with your operations and stall out the recon teams. By then, we should have enough and leave the area. I will impede their investigations by presenting them with a few technical issues."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do."

/-/

"This is Blue Hunter. We've arrived at the abandoned Dust mine! It's full of Grimm!"

"Hold fire, hold fire! The Grimm are carrying Dust!"

"What the hel– BBZZT!" The video glitched out into a series of random static.

Five figures stand in the military briefing room. All of them are considered the finest and elite Huntsmen and Huntresses in Atlas: The Ace Operatives, or Ace-Ops for short. Their team is composed of five individuals instead of the typical teams of four. Elm Ederne, Vine Zeki, Marrow Amin, Harriet Bree, and their leader, Clover Ebi.

"An hour ago, one of the military outposts detected unusual seismic activities at an abandoned Dust mine." Clover briefed his teammates, running through several images and feeds. "Recon was sent, but they encountered a large group of Grimm within the area. Their advances were further hindered by malfunctioning equipments. Most importantly, these Grimm display unusual behaviors, as you can see just now."

"What on Remnant? Why are all those Grimm carrying Dust?" Marrow frowned, tilting his head to the side as he studies the five Centinels on the screen. All of them had purple Dust in their mandibles, not something you would see every day. "And they didn't outright attack them?"

"The Grimm holding on to these Dust appears to be more focus on leaving the area, or interestingly enough, intimidating recon." Clover flicks through another set of images for his team to review. This image has a group of soldiers backing off from a Centinel wiggling around with a sizeable chunk of Dust in its mouth. "They don't appear to be actively attacking anyone. The ones that are not carrying Dust on the other hand are extremely aggressive. In the end, every field team had to retreat as there were too many dangers with volatile Dust nearby."

"This is certainly very strange." Vine mused, cupping his chin thoughtfully. "I can see why we were suddenly assigned to this mission."

Harriet crossed her arms, "No kidding. Never seen Grimm act like this."

"Adds more to the mystery." Elm nodded in agreement, "What could possibly be making them act like this?"

"Maybe some sort of very ancient and intelligent Grimm is commanding them?"

Clover brought up another report for them to look at, "According to the intelligence shared with us, Vale is also experiencing odd Grimm behaviors, not just Atlas and Mantle. Whatever is occurring, let's leave the speculations for the scientists. Our mission is to investigate and if possible, eliminate all Grimm within the vicinity. We will approach this with great caution."

"Easier said than done, how are we supposed to sneak pass the Grimm without blowing ourselves up?"

Elm laughed and slapped Marrow on the back, making him wince. "Always asking the right questions, aren't you? We'll figure it out!" She cracked her knuckles, "Try not to explode."

"Right… Try not to get us killed."

/-/

"How irritating. Out of all the Special Operative teams they could have sent, James decided to dispatch the Ace-Ops to deal with this matter." Dr. Watts's voice oozed with venom. "Always getting in my way!" He quickly caught himself and cleared his throat. "Ah, forgive me. My emotions got the better of me."

"Don't worry about it." Internally, Jaune is seconds from freaking out. If he can recall, the Ace-Ops are the elite huntsmen and huntresses in Atlas. If they get here and catch up with him, he's most likely screwed. _'Control your breathing, Jaune. Control and relax. Relax your face, and picture yourself calm and in control.'_

It's a good thing Salem taught him well, along with drama class his sisters made him took for some reason.

"The Dust we collected is currently being taken to our underground shuttle. Once it's been fully processed and stabilized, you can safely leave the confines of this abandoned facility and collapse the underground tunnels. In the meantime, how should we proceed?"

Jaune's façade nearly wavered. _'Why are you asking me?! Aren't you the schemer?!'_

Pythia floated near his face, snapping him out of his internal panic. The Seer made a series of clicking noises, updating him on the status of the Grimm outside the mines.

"Hmm. We lost a good amount of Grimm outside." Jaune wracked his brain for a solution to delay the Ace-Ops. It's like a holdout mission from one of his games, survive until the timer reaches zero to win. He looked around the cavern, mentally taking note of what he currently has on hand. The Geists, Centinels, a frosty Deathstalker, and a whole bunch of Grimm that he managed to gather out in the frozen wastelands. Plus, some spare Dust and supplies. "I think I have an idea. Something simple."

/-/

"We've arrived at our designated area." Clover cautiously observed his surroundings before frowning at the lack of communications from central command. "Mission control?" Instead of a response, he could only hear static. "Something is interfering with our communication devices."

This was to be expected as the previous teams also experienced the same issues. Whatever is going on, it's affecting their electronics.

Vine double checks his comms and nodded, "I too, am having the same technical difficulties."

Everyone tried all their electronic devices, only to find that none of them are working as intended. Their scrolls refused to snap out of their sleep mode. Turning them on and off does nothing. Their tech department will definitely want to hear about this.

"Off to a great start."

"Oh, you are just radiating negativity."

"Now, now you two." Elm placed her two massive hands on Harriet and Marrow's shoulder. "We're going to have to do this the old fashion way!" She nodded towards Clover, who pulled out a topographical map that marks several points of interest. "Just follow the map!"

Splitting up wasn't a good option from the beginning, seeing how many uncertainties there are in this mission. They run a greater risk of going down together in a grand explosion, but it's better than going their separate ways and getting picked off by whatever is in the mines.

"Elm. Take point. We're going in!"

The massive woman grinned and hoists her gigantic hammer rocket hybrid named Timber. "Hah! My favorite role!"

The Ace-Ops steadily advanced into the mines. Their senses were sensitive to the slightest change in the slightly dark cavern. Abandoned carts, broken mining equipment, crumple pillars, and wires. The entire mine is practically dead, left as it was when the accident occurred that lead up to its abandonment. They continued down the wide icy tunnels, completely devoid of anything.

No Grimm. No sound.

Very different from what they were shown earlier. Either the Grimm has completely left this place, or they have decided to reside deeper within the mines.

"It's quiet. Too quiet."

Vine closed his eyes, drawing upon his spiritualism to attune himself to his surroundings. "This place... It has become silent."

"Not a single Grimm spotted. This feels like a trap to me." Harriet's eyes darted towards the ceiling, checking for the slightest clue of what is happening. "Wouldn't be that far-fetched, seeing how some Grimm are capable of establishing ambushes."

Their team leader calmly traced and estimated their locations before storing away the map. "Let's keep moving. We should be near our first point of interest."

They picked up the pace, moving quickly through the caverns. Making small notes of several indicators that they weren't the only people here recently. There were several skid marks throughout a certain portion of the mines that was recently made.

"It looks like somebody was down here mining Dust with the Grimm." Marrow recalled the images and videos of centipede-like Grimm carrying Dust away like a colony of ants. "If that's even possible."

Elm narrowed her eyes, "I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this."

It's strange. The Dust abandoned here in the mines are supposedly left untouched. The military plans on obtaining those in the future, but now it seems that they will have to cut their losses with the mines stripped bare of any Dust.

"Wait." Everyone instantly came to a halt, their weapons held firmly in their hands, ready to act upon command. Clover pulled out his map, shifting his gaze from the map to a large, jagged tunnel on their left. "I believe we found our first point of interest."

"The tunnel?"

"It would seem so."

The Ace-Ops cautiously approached and peered into the jagged tunnel. Cautiously, they made their way towards the end of it. A large spherical area pocketed with indents where Dust used to be embedded.

Harriet kneels down on the ground and brushed aside a very small pile of ice shaving and sediments. "These were made recently. Whoever or whatever was here."

"The tunnels appear to be made by something big and powerful." Vine inspected the jagged tunnel, gently touching the rough edges. "That may explain the unusual seismic activities."

Clover ran his hand through the deposit of sediments laying on the edges of the jagged tunnels, "I think you're right. The sensors set up were place in accord to this abandoned Dust mine. This is something the sensors would pick up."

"Now that poses us a big question, eh?" Elm lightheartedly nudged Vine, "Where is it now?"

"And can we even deal with something that big? Don't forget about that equally important question." Marrow added in, not liking their chance with a massive Grimm in an underground Dust mine.

"That too."

While the Ace-Ops continued to investigate and chat with one another, Clover silently reevaluates his team's objective and the map he was provided. Originally, he had his team head towards the closest point of interest, which they arrived. With the revelation of a possible giant tunneling Grimm nearby, they might not be able to handle something that large and strong in an unfavorable environment. That is, should he and his team prove unable to handle the situation.

Furthermore, their investigations for each point of interest will need an overhaul. Whatever is down here; where did it come from? Clover doubled his effort and read the seismic activities marked on the map, along with a timestamp of when they were detected.

Finally, he narrowed down on one particular area. The first report of unusual seismic activities. Just south, roughly two levels underneath them.

"Team! Fall in! There's been a change of plans!"

/-/

"They're making their way towards your current location." Dr. Watts updated the Ace-Ops movement to Jaune. He may have manage to shut down their devices and track their movements from their electronic signals, but that's the best he can do from his current position. "I take it, your preparation for their possible interference is complete?"

'_Not really.' _Is what Jaune really wanted to say, "Yes. It is. Hopefully, it will delay them long enough."

"I shall contact you once more when the stabilizing procedure is complete. In the meantime, I'll leave everything to you."

The moment Dr. Watts ended the call, Jaune immediately slump onto a crate, already exhausted despite standing around doing nothing.

"Why did I have to jinx it? Pythia, what did I do to deserve this?" His Seer made a hissing noise that sounds suspiciously like snickering. "You're evil, you know that? Even for a Grimm."

Pythia took that as a compliment.

Jaune sighed, "Whatever."

A few precious seconds went by, nearing the half minute mark before Floyd, the other Geist phased through the ceiling. The Geist let out a low ghastly growl, alerting him that the Ace-Ops are nearby.

"They're here." He took a deep breath, "Alright. Let's do this. We buy some time and then get out of here. Gerald, Crystal! Stay here. Pythia, stay back a bit in case I need you."

/-/

The Ace-Ops arrived at a wide-open cavern connected to a borehole that leads deeper underground. They immediately noticed that unlike the other areas, this part of the mines still has some Dust left over. Not a lot, but enough to collapse this entire section if a single one of them explodes.

"This area still has some Dusts left."

"It seems like it was left behind on purpose." Vine cautioned his teammates. There were pockets of depressions that used to house Dust, meaning that this area has been mined before. "Or it could be a mining operation that was halfway abandoned."

"Ha! Everything has become very suspicious."

"Yes, yes. There's Dust here." Marrow pointed at the massive borehole that goes underground. "Can we please continue with the mission?"

"This place giving you the chills?" Harriet teased her teammate.

"We still have several more areas to investigate, and we still don't know what's down here."

They traded another series of remarks towards each other, stopping when they detected someone approaching them from the borehole.

Clover stepped forth to confront the stranger, "This is Atlas Special Operative Division! Identify yourself!"

"I know. You're the Ace-Ops." A young man with bright blond hair and blue eyes calmly walks out from the unlit tunnel. He was dressed in a black and white jacket, blue jeans, black boots, and a donned a white armored plate and gloves. "The best huntsmen and huntresses of Atlas."

"Identify yourself," Clover repeated, silently signaling his team to spread out.

"I'm the Everknight." The blond boy introduced himself, wielding a pair of lackluster looking sword and shield. "Nice to meet you."

Marrow rolled his eyes, "Hey, kid. No time for roleplaying. What are you doing here?"

"Let Clover do the talking." Vine sharply whispered. There's something very, very wrong about this person. He can't put it, but it's an unpleasant feeling. Regardless of what it is, he needs to let his team leader know. "Sir, there's something off about this individual."

The Everknight sighed, "I suppose you're not wrong about that."

On cue, something came crashing overhead. Large boulders clattering, nearly collapsing on the Ace-Ops. The Ace-Ops leaped out of the way, scattering from the sudden cave-in. Only it wasn't a cave-in. It was a Geist that decided to join them. The hulking rocky figure towered over them by a long shot, overshadowing two of their transport vehicles stacked together.

"Grimm!"

"Watch out for the Dust!"

The Geist has incorporated Dusts into its rocky body, forcing them to fight it pin-pointedly and remove the Dust first before bringing it down. With numerous other Dusts in the area, they will have to be extremely cautious about how they fight. One trip up and the entire area could erupt in an explosion.

Harriet frantically turned towards the blond boy, "Hey, you! Get out…!" Her eyes widened when she saw him pull out a gas canister. "What are you doing?! Those won't work on a Grimm!"

"It's not for the Grimm." He lobbed it at Ace-Ops, "Sorry about this."

The huntress let out a string of curses at him, swiftly activating her speed semblance to escape the bouncing gas canister that continuously spewed out unknown substances. "Individual is hostile! He's trying to get us all killed!"

Two more gas canisters were thrown around the area, spreading pale gray smoke all over the place.

"Fall back into the tunnels!" Clover ordered, the odds are stacked heavily against them, even with his good luck semblance. "The Geist won't be able to fit in there!"

Escaping from this unfavorable situation takes priority right now. The gas canisters will greatly hinder their ability to fight against the Geist. They will need to fall back and reexamine these new developments before engaging the Grimm or the Everknight. Eliminating this Grimm is their priority. The military will want to conduct research and secure this place afterward, therefore, they will need to eliminate any Grimm to establish a decent hold on the abandoned Dust mine.

As for the Everknight, they will have to deal with him later. That is if they have the chance.

"Come on!"

They swiftly maneuvered out of the Geist's heavy swings, making a dash towards the tunnel in which they came from. The Geist stomped towards them, stopping several meters away when it knows that it wouldn't be able to reach them.

"Now!" The Everknight shouted.

To their surprise, the Geist seemed to be following the Everknight's command, raising an arm and pointing it at them. Three purple Dust was stabbed into its stubby hand, rotating like a revolver's cylinder. Their eyes widened at the implications.

"Evasive maneuver!"

The Geist propelled the Dust crystal at them, rippling through the air with purple rings. It fell short, but the explosion was too close for comfort. A bright purple orb of volatile energy erupted as the Dust hit the ground, throwing the Ace-Ops off their feet.

They tumbled on the ground before recovering, leaping back from the collapsing tunnel.

"Move, move! The entire area is about to collapse in on itself!"

"Damn it! I didn't know Geist could do that!"

The rumbling ceased as they sprinted out of the tunnel. Behind them, the tunnels were no longer tunnels. Just another wall of rocky sediments and coats of dirt flying about from its recent cave-in. The Ace-Ops remained silent for a few moments, taking in what had just happened.

"We're falling back to the entrance, for now." Clover calmly said once he felt that they were in the clear. "There's a lot of things that we need to sort out before going back in."

"Yes, sir!" The rest of the Ace-Ops glanced back at the collapsed tunnel before slowly returning to the surface.

* * *

**No Omake this time, sorry!**

* * *

**Pardon our grammar!**

**Please point out any misspelling or mistakes so that we can correct it! Applies for all previous chapters and so forth! ****Working on present and past tense.**

* * *

**So, begins Jaune's short adventure in Atlas and Mantle.**

* * *

**We've been running into issues with personal life, and the second stage of Summer courses will start very soon. Expect delays to this story along with every others.**


End file.
